Poultry, Livestock Producers Could See Relief From Latest Stimulus Package

Jan 22, 2021

By Seth Bodine

Congress has assigned $13 billion in the new COVID-19 relief bill to help farmers who have been affected by the pandemic. Those dollars include $1 billion for contract poultry and livestock growers, and would cover up to 80% of losses.

Farmers could receive $20 per acre for commodity crops like corn that have fallen in price by at least five percent.

John Newton is the chief economist for the American Farm Bureau, and says for many, the money is a lifeline.

"It costs a lot of money to put a crop in the ground every single year," said Newton. "When you lose your market immediately this helps them meet the needs of their lender, pay any outstanding obligations, they may have [and] pay their employees."

Newton said the aid is needed but it’s too soon to say if it's enough.

"I think it's a little early to make that judgment on whether or not it's enough, I think there are certainly producers that that still haven't got assistance that definitely need it," said Newton.

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Video: Learning to Wrench From Dad the Hard Way

Harvest is a week out and the farm picked this week to fall apart. The truck needs a battery, the barn curtain's got a problem, and the corn and beans are telling us we're out of time to get it all fixed.

So it's a full day of wrenching. Tork supervises while I get the truck back running, then we're out at the hog barn where one rusted up part has the whole curtain system hung up. Ladder work, cable work, and a little dad-and-son disagreement about the right way to do it. We close it out walking the fields, shelling beans and checking corn, because whether everything's fixed or not, harvest starts when harvest starts.

Chapters: 00:00 Everything breaks the week before harvest 01:00 Tork supervises while I fix the truck 12:30 Out to the barn to find the curtain problem 14:30 One rusty part hung up the whole curtain 20:00 Running the curtain cable from the ladder 24:00 Walking the beans and corn before harvest 26:30 Wrapping up

We're a 6th generation family farm in southeast Iowa showing the real ups and downs of pig farming and row crop farming. No script, just the work. Subscribe and follow along.

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