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President Trump signs omnibus spending, COVID relief bill

President Trump reversed course and signed the bill that funds the government and provides a third round of coronavirus relief payments.

The coronavirus relief for farmers includes a billion dollars to compensate for depopulated poultry and livestock losses for up to 80% of their value.  Row crop farmers will be eligible for new 20-dollar-an-acre payments for the same qualifying crops as the last round of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP-2).  American Farm Bureau estimates the new aid will amount to nearly 1.8 billion dollars for corn, 1.7 billion dollars for soybeans, and about 886 million dollars for wheat.

The newly signed package allows USDA to extend the term of marketing loans by three months, allows aid for biofuels producers affected by market losses, and extends the Paycheck Protection Program along with clarification that PPP funding can be used for COVID mitigation costs and expenses paid with PPP money are tax deductible. 

Nearly a billion dollars is earmarked for a dairy donation program and supplemental Dairy Margin Coverage payments.  There is also 22 million dollars included to support dairy business innovation initiatives.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance or SNAP program benefits were also increased 15%.

The price tag is 1.4 trillion dollars for the fiscal year 2021 including 900 billion dollars for coronavirus relief.  Trump wanted larger individual stimulus checks and elimination of what he called wasteful spending when criticizing the bill last week.

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