The U.S. Department of Agriculture "continues to make progress" in several programs that will benefit farmers, ranchers and producers, the agency said in a news release.
The improvements include: Helping producers facing high input costs to access domestic, innovative fertilizer capacity; improving risk protection for underserved producers; investing in new choices and meat processing capacity for livestock producers and providing relief for producers impacted by disaster and the pandemic.
“At USDA, our goal is to provide all farmers, including new and underserved producers, with the opportunity to receive the assistance they need to continue farming, to build and maintain their competitive edge and to access more, new and better markets,” USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement at the American Farm Bureau Federation Convention. “Working together, we can ensure American agriculture is as resilient as ever and will do so by implementing a holistic approach to emergency assistance, by lowering input costs through investments in domestic fertilizer production, and by promoting competition in agricultural markets.”
The programs and efforts "are part of the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to lower costs for producers, increase competition and access to market opportunities, and ensure equity in designing and developing programs to help all producers," the news release said. "Additionally, the announcements are a continuation of the Biden-Harris administration’s focus on targeting assistance based on need, reaching everyone who is eligible and removing the bureaucratic burden on producers. "
