On May 15, 2019, the U.S. Canola Association once again called upon U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to include canola and other crops indirectly affected by retaliatory trade tariffs in Market Facilitation Payments (MFPs). While these payments in 2018 were limited to commodities directly subjected to tariffs, it is vital for the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide assistance this year to other crops whose prices and demand are tied to those of crops with tariffs.
Furthermore, public comments by the Trump Administration on the potential for additional assistance are impacting farmers’ planting decisions, negatively impacting excluded crops like canola. As farmers speculate that assistance in 2019 could be consistent with the 2018 MFPs, they are incentivized to plant based on expected payments rather than on market demand and agronomic astuteness.