2019 fall farm

Page 26 2019 Logan County Farm Outlook Magazine Lincoln Daily News Nov. 1, 2019 prices would have been better without the tariffs or not, but the MFP funds sure helped.” • Another producer said, “The MFP funds certainly helped offset some of the hit taken in the grain market from the trade disputes.” That producer agrees with the tactics the U.S. is deploying in the trade war, saying that the feet of some of our trade partners, especially China, need to be held to the fire, and that if this is what it takes to bring about market equity, he/she is on board for now. “Hopefully the short term suffering will result in long term market growth.” • Still another producer said that the MFP money was substantial, more than $70 an acre on beans. “Don’t think that grain farmers got hurt by tariffs this year, depends on if they were able to hold on through earlier dips in the markets.” • [several other producers were asked for comments but were either in the field, declined or were not able to respond in time for this article] Some forward motion in the trade war with China was reported this week, saying they were close to finalizing part of a Phase One trade deal. No details were provided, and it was said that talks would continue. China announced that it was committing to the purchase of $20B of soybeans from the U.S. in 2020. And further news reports say that the two parties have reached a deal on tech trade. President Trump said that he expected to sign a significant part of the trade deal with China ahead of schedule but did not elaborate further. Even with some positive news, there is no deal yet on the table that will benefit the American farmer, and it is not yet known if a 2020 MFP program will be offered. The funds dispersed in the 2019 MFP program were appreciated by Logan County producers. They continue to be able to achieve top production results, even in a bad year. Now if only they could get better prices for their products!