News

Minnesota farmer says 2019 cash flow hinged on MFP

The Market Facilitation Program is credited with helping many farmers make a profit in 2019.

Bill Rogotzke, a corn and soybean grower from Sanborn in southwest Minnesota, says the payments made a big difference.

“Timely cash flow outside of our normal marketing range, and helped pick up some of the repair bills and some of the day-to-day stuff where you’d have to sell some crop to pay some bills.”

He tells Brownfield it’s difficult to say whether more trade aid is coming.

“With the coronavirus, that throws kind of a wrench into everything. I would hope the trade picks up and we won’t need (MFP), but we won’t know until after the fact.”

The Trump Administration has indicated another round of MFP is on the table IF China is unable to follow through on its phase one commitments.  But Ag Secretary Perdue says the USDA remains confident more Chinese ag purchases are coming and that MFP will no longer be needed.