04.29.19

Hoeven: USDA Extends MFP Certification Deadline to May 17

Announcement Comes on the Heels of Senator’s Meeting with Agriculture Secretary & ND Producers to Address Challenges in Farm Country

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee and a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, today issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) extended the Market Facilitation Program (MFP) certification deadline to May 17. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue initially announced the extension this past weekend during an event Hoeven arranged in North Dakota with local agriculture producers to address the challenges in farm country. USDA officially extended the MFP deadline this morning. 

The extension will help ensure producers who have yet been unable to harvest last year’s crop due to weather and trade uncertainty will be able to benefit from the administration’s trade assistance program. To date, the assistance has provided more than $430 million in payments to nearly 16,000 producers in North Dakota.

“The trade assistance has provided an important boost for North Dakota’s producers, and this extension under MFP is more welcome relief, as many farmers’ crops from last year are still in the field as a result of unpredictable weather and trade uncertainty,” Hoeven said. “I appreciate Secretary Perdue for working with us on this extension and for his willingness to hear firsthand from our farmers and other agriculture stakeholders this weekend.”

Hoeven continues working with the administration to advance the following priorities to help farmers and ranchers weather the challenges of low commodity prices, retaliatory tariffs and natural disasters:

  • Finalizing trade agreements as soon as possible, like the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) as well as negotiations with China and Japan.
  • Securing additional commodity sales while negotiations continue.
  • Implementing the 2018 Farm Bill in a farmer-friendly way.
  • Providing adequate access to credit so producers can maintain their operations.

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