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USDA Market Facilitation Program formula draws criticism

A farm management analyst is critical of the formula USDA is using to calculate Market Facilitation Program payments.

Kent Thiesse with MinnStar Bank in south-central Minnesota says basing compensation on production really hurts farmers with poor yields, even if they have crop insurance.

“For those (farmers) who are getting 10, 15, to 20 percent above their normal yield like they are in places like Illinois, Indiana, and parts of Nebraska, they certainly come out a lot better if you’re getting 70 bushel soybeans than if you’re getting 40 bushel soybeans.”

He tells Brownfield producers won’t be made whole through crop insurance or the trade aid program.

“But the bottom line is the payments are going to fall far short for those people that got lower yields just because they’re not getting paid on the bushels they aren’t getting.”

Thiesse says he’s hopeful USDA will issue a second MFP payment.

He’s also confident higher levels of crop insurance will provide a decent payout.