Alabama farmers to receive money from the USDA
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - Harvesting crops is getting harder. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is stepping in to help.
“People that farm do it because they love it, but you know, nobody loves it enough to lose money year after year after year,” said Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries Commissioner Rick Pate.
Besides natural setbacks like the weather, farmers are facing rising costs and lower profits.
“That has created challenges on how to pay operating loans, how to continue to produce the food and the fiber that we depend on,” said economist Adam Rabinowitz.
Rabinowitz said he’s never seen it this bad and that farmers might have left the business if the federal government hadn’t stepped in.
The USDA is now issuing up to $10 billion to farmers nationwide through the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program. The relief is for row crop producers farming staples from wheat and cotton, to corn and peanuts.
If all farmers eligible apply, up to $70 million in federal money could come to Alabama. This would support the state’s existing $77 billion agriculture industry.
Farmers can apply for the ECAP on the USDA website.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated to correct a typo. Agriculture is a $77 billion industry in Alabama, not $477 billion.
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