Dozens of Iowa farmers get less than $25 from Trump tariff assistance, data show

Nearly $31 million in bailout payments are hitting the mailboxes of Iowa farmers slammed financially from ongoing U.S. trade disputes, detailed data from a national environmental group show.

But some checks will barely cover the cost of a Starbucks coffee for a few growers.

About 100 of the nearly 4,300 payments to Iowa farmers through October are less than $25, according to data from the Environmental Working Group.

Twenty-four Iowa farmers snagged less than $10, with 11 getting $5 or less.

Overall, the average payment to farmers is $7,236, based on the Washington, D.C., group's data.

Most of the small checks are headed to corn growers, who are getting a penny a bushel in assistance under President Donald Trump's $12 billion emergency farm aid package.

It's designed to help U.S. pork, soybean, corn and other farmers who've seen prices tumble due to the Trump administration's trade battles with China, Canada, Mexico and other countries.

"The corn payments are a joke. Someone at USDA made a mistake" in determining the formula for assistance, said Dermot Hayes, an Iowa State University economist.

The Environmental Working Group received information on 87,704 payments, totaling $356 million.

It's a fraction of the $4.7 billion going to U.S. farmers in the first round of payments, but it provides a snapshot of how the money will be split up.

Reuters reported this month that USDA has shipped out close to $840 million in bailout payments so far, with the largest amounts going to Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Indiana and Minnesota. That data didn't include a breakdown by state.

The Environmental Working Group said the rescue program fails to help "the farmers most threatened by his escalating trade war."

The group said the top 10 percent of bailout recipients have received 68 percent of all the money. And 1,000 big city residents have gotten checks.

“These numbers match trends EWG has been tracking for years, which indicate that federal farm subsidies tend to benefit the largest, most financially secure farmers — or those who have a financial interest in a farm, but may never set a foot on it, let alone drive a tractor,” said Sarah Graddy, an Environmental Working Group spokeswoman.

Three Iowa growers were among 85 farmers who exceeded the $125,000 cap, using legal loopholes that allow multiple family members to apply for assistance, said the group, which is lobbying for stricter payment limits to large farmers in the next Farm Bill.

The president of the National Corn Growers Association sent U.S. Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue a letter last week saying the emergency aid program fails to fully cover the $6.3 billion in losses farmers have experienced.

And U.S dairy farmers say their losses will exceed $1 billion this year from tariffs, while the initial USDA mitigation package allocates $127 million.

Pam Sellner, who runs a small dairy near Manchester, said even small payments will help.

Iowa struggled with rain during harvest that flooded fields and caused corn to mold in some areas.

"We need better prices, period, instead of a Band-Aid payment," said Sellner, pointing to four years of losses for many U.S. dairies.

An estimated 80 dairies in Iowa have closed, struggling with losses.

U.S. trade battles "certainly didn’t help anything," Sellner said.

Iowa's late harvest, now hampered by snow, has slowed payments to farmers, said Chad Hart, an ISU ag economist.

Iowa growers will receive $550 million in the bailout, an ISU study shows, with the overall hit from tariffs to the state's economy reaching $2 billion.

"The bulk of the payments should begin flowing soon," Hart said. "Payment depends on having the harvest done," which still isn't complete for some farmers.

Nine percent of corn and 3 percent of soybeans still hadn't been harvested, a USDA report looking at conditions through Nov. 18 shows.

"These payments will help," Hart said, especially as farmers struggle to pay bills following the harvest.

Tariffs on U.S. ag exports have exacerbated ongoing financial difficulties in farming, with income this year projected to be about half of a 2013 high.

Hayes said some Iowa corn growers won't even apply for assistance given the size of payments. "It costs more to do the paperwork than the check is worth," he said.

So far, the average payment to Iowa corn growers is $117, the Environmental Working Group's data show.

Overall, Iowa pork producers have received $15.2 million in initial payments; soybean growers, $14.2 million; dairy producers, $1.5 million; corn growers, $63,523, and wheat growers, $12,291.

Perdue has indicated the U.S. Department of Agriculture will release the remaining emergency aid beginning in December.

Hart expects Perdue to follow the same formula, based on the financial impact of tariffs. So for some, "$3 will mean $6," he said.