2019 fall farm

2019 Logan County Farm Outlook Magazine Lincoln Daily News Nov. 1, 2019 Page 25 bailouts of 2008 in that their objective was to prevent bankruptcy (and unemployment). In the case of the automaker bailouts, the money was lent, the companies were nationalized (meaning the government owned a significant portion of GM, GMAC, and Chrysler), and the government stepped in to take part in the management of those companies. The $80.7 billion dollars lent to the automakers was largely paid back (all but $10.2 billion dollars), and the government was divested of their interests and management. In the case of MFP, money was delivered to producers based on bushels produced (2018) and acres planted (2019). No farm takeover, no government management of farms, no government ownership of operations, and no expectation that the money will ever be paid back. The MFP program of 2018 was done hastily, done late, and was somewhat confusing and ineffective. An early per bushel stipend was augmented by a later added stipend. Efforts on a more effective 2019 program changed from per-bushel to per acre planted and was announced in May 2019. In much of the country, 2019 planting was delayed or cancelled by late season rains which caused flooding and kept farmers out of the field. So the offer of MFP dollars based on acres planted at first seemed like an empty promise. Farmers who were unable to plant only received federal crop insurance protection. Farmers who did get to plant received a substantial amount on every acre planted (about $76 an acre for soybeans in Logan County). The MFP program had a whole host of critics who said that Trump was buying the 2020 election at the taxpayers’ expense, and others who said that rich farmers benefited at an unfair rate from the program over poor farmers. The subsidy amount was the same, but small farmers planted fewer acres than larger farmers and received less money. The 2019 program capped the subsidy at $900k: only operations grossing $900k or less were eligible for this subsidy. The result was that $16 billion dollars were sent to producers in 2019, compared to $12 billion in 2018. Of the $685,483,316.15 amount appropriated for Illinois, the amount sent to Logan County producers was $20,489,701. A number of Logan County producers commented (anonymously) on the impact of the 2019 MFP program to their operations: • One producer said that the MFP funds came at just the right time, when the bills were coming due and grain prices were skinny. That producer said, “We can’t know if grain Continue 8