WICOMICO COUNTY, Md. -- President Donald Trump is promising relief for struggling farmers, announcing that his administration will make $12 billion available nationwide.
The funding is welcome news for farmers on Delmarva, particularly soybean growers who have faced rising costs and stagnant prices.
Marcus Shockley is one of them. WBOC met Shockley at his farm in Parsonsburg before heading to a roughly 120-acre soybean field off Route 50, where he described some of the challenges facing the agricultural industry.
"You know, everything’s too expensive as it is, right down to the seed and the fertilizer and the chemicals," said Shockley.
One area Shockley said soybean farmers have benefited from is location, noting that most of the harvest stays on Delmarva. As a result, tariffs, which have pushed countries like China to seek soybeans outside the U.S., have not had a major impact on his farm.
Still, Shockley said that selling locally is not yielding the returns farmers need.
"I’ll get $11 a bushel, you know, ever since I’ve been farming," said Shockley. "It hasn’t moved much, by now you’d think we’d be getting $14 a bushel or something."
Many of those struggles are what the $12 billion relief package aims to address. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, $11 billion will go toward the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program, designed to help offset market disruptions, elevated input costs, and persistent inflation.
Shockley said he and other farmers on Delmarva are still waiting to learn how much assistance they will receive. He said they hope to have more clarity in the coming weeks.
We reached out to the Maryland Farm Bureau today, hoping to broaden this story beyond Wicomico County. Its communications department pointed us to the American Farm Bureau Federation and provided us with the following statement:
“Farmers are grateful to President Trump and Secretary Brooke Rollins for providing resources that, for many, could make the difference between staying in business to plant another crop, or shuttering a family farm.
“America’s farmers have been hit from every direction during this economic storm. They face the same high prices as all of America’s families, as more of their income is going to household bills and higher operating costs, including loans, equipment and supplies. At the same time, farmers are receiving historically low prices for most major crops ?— they’re expected to lose $34 billion this year alone.
“We appreciate that Congress addressed many economic challenges in legislation earlier this year, but many farm program improvements will not kick in until next year. The assistance announced today will make an immediate impact by providing a lifeline for farmers who work to ensure a healthy, safe and abundant food supply.”
