The details of the new Market Facilitation Program will be released within a matter of days. “I believe people deserve an answer sooner rather than later,” said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. Perdue emphasized the goals of the MFP payments differ from prevented plant coverage. “The Market Facilitation Program is designed for tariff disruptions and we have a safety net in insurance over prevented plant.”
The USDA legal team has determined crops must be planted to be eligible for MFP payments. With the new trade assistance plan, farmers will receive payments based on a county rate and their eligible planted acres in 2019. The formula for the county rates has not been announced, but will be based on the trade impact for the crops grown in the county.