Michigan's senators are urging the Trump administration to ensure the continuity of the nation’s food supply and to support rural areas during the COVID-19 pandemic by providing needed relief to farmers.
Sens. Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow wrote a letter to Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue urging permanent flexibility in Farm Service Agency loans and equitable access to credit during this period of market uncertainty. Forty-one of their colleagues signed the letter.
“Americans always depend on our nation’s farmers to grow the food, fuel, and fiber that we all need, but that reliance becomes much more pronounced in times of crisis,” the senators worte. “To provide additional support for those whose operations are being affected by the coronavirus, we urge you to consider making emergency measures such as deadline extensions, loan payment deferrals, payment forbearance, and a full suspension of all current and pending foreclosure actions effective for the duration of the pandemic and subsequent economic recovery…such measures are critical to avoiding disruption in the country’s food supply chain.”
Full text of the letter can be found here.