As of last week, USDA paid out just over $6 billion of the $16 billion in CFAP payments. One agricultural economist says without the full $16 billion, lower CFAP payments could change net farm income projections.
President Donald Trump and USDA released the long-awaited rules for direct payments under the Coronavirus Food Aid Program (CFAP) at the White House Tuesday.
Producers watch to see if retail beef demand will continue its slow decline as consumers’ freezers are now packed with meat. There’s a discussion on market manipulation and if there’s a need for an investigation.
The USDA said its food safety and pest and plant disease divisions, along with the Agricultural Marketing Service, continue to function as the coronavirus COVID-19 spread.
Fears of the coronavirus continue to haunt the stock market despite the Federal Reserve’s efforts to calm it. Live cattle prices have dropped to numbers producers and traders haven’t seen in nearly a decade.
