A recent letter to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue says the current Market Facilitation Program creates “winners and losers among neighbors.” 

The Letter by House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson urges the Department of Agriculture to strongly consider a list of concerns in issuing the next round of payments under the program. 

Peterson says acres not certified or enrolled in farm programs in 2018 are not eligible for the program, which is problematic for farms that recently changed hands where the previous owner didn’t participate in farm programs. 

Additionally, Peterson says crop rotations have prevented farmers from receiving payments, and the payments don’t account for the impact on crop basis created by trade disruptions. 

Regarding the MFP dairy program, Peterson says farmers have many questions about why their payments were based on established farm program production history, and not actual production. 

Peterson says he “stands ready to work with the administration” on long term fixes to the commodity safety net.