One of the groups that President Donald Trump will need the support of if he is going to be reelected in 2020 is farmers, who could help determine whether or not he is victorious in midwestern states like Iowa and Wisconsin. But according to a study by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), most of the farmers who have been benefitting from the Trump Administration’s $8.4 billion in farm aid payments have been the ones at the top.
That $8.4 billion was designed to offset the effects of the U.S./China trade war. The first round of aid was announced in 2018 and was, EWG said, linked to crop production.
According to the EWG’s study, which was released on Tuesday, more than half of that $8.4 billion went to the top 10% of aid recipients. The top 1% of aid recipients, EWG said, have received an average of more than $180,000 worth of aid — while the bottom 80% have received less than $5000 worth of aid.
In an official statement, EWG noted, “Farm bailout payments designed to offset the impacts of President Trump’s trade war have overwhelmingly flowed to the largest and most successful farmers…. The bigger the farm, the bigger the government check.”
EWG said its survey was based on data obtained from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
A USDA spokesperson told Reuters that the payments were based on individual production, saying, “The more acres they farm and bushels per acre they produce, the more assistance they receive.”