Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin is looking for answers on how the federal government is going to help Wisconsin farmers as the chances of a trade war with China grow.
“I’ve been hearing a lot from dairy farmers about anxieties and concerns over the President’s threats of tariffs and the prospect of Chinese retaliation,” says Baldwin.
Baldwin questioned Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue on Wednesday in committee about how the USDA is going to help not only dairy farmers, but also other crop farmers as well. “There’s very strong concerns about the impact on dairy, but also on some of our specialty crops like cranberries and ginseng which the Chinese have specifically called out as prospects for retaliation.”
“I urged Secretary Purdue to take more steps to provide support for farmers targeted by China’s retaliatory tariffs, address Canada’s unfair dairy pricing scheme and ensure Wisconsin farmers have the tools they need to be successful and boost our agriculture economy,” says Baldwin.
Secretary Perdue agreed with Senator Baldwin about the importance of responding to these unfair trade practices, and acknowledged Senator Baldwin’s important work advocating to include provisions in the 2018 government spending measure that gives USDA the authority to support farmers impacted by trade disputes.
Baldwin says an updated Milk Margin Protection Program included in the new Farm Bill can offer support to Wisconsin farmers as they sort out how Chinese tariffs will affect them.
“There’s a new open enrollment period that’s retroactive to the first of the year, and people have an opportunity to visit their FSA and see if the improved MPP is right for them.”
You can find out more online at https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/Dairy-MPP/index
