The US Congress has published a package of bills that provides as much as $31 billion in support for farmers in the event of natural disasters and when agricultural production does not cover costs.

The end-of-year funding proposal provides nearly $21 billion for farmers affected by natural disasters (storms, drought, floods, etc.). A further USD 10 billion in economic assistance is earmarked for crop farms.

„I have no doubt that for many farmers, the critical funding provided in this bill could be the difference between planting a crop next year and not planting a crop the year after,United States Farmers Federation of America (FFA) President Zippy Duvall told the media.

Thousands of farmers have contacted Congress to have these bills passed.

The bill specifies how the $10 billion in support for farmers should be calculated. The USDA would have to make lump-sum payments within 90 days of the bill's entry into force for crops where the expected gross margin per acre (1 ha equals 2.471 acres) is less than the expected cost of production.

Based on December WASDE data, for example, the price of wheat is expected to be around USD 5.60 per bushel, or around EUR 198 per tonne.

Under the bill, this price would be calculated on the basis of a 10-year average harvest, which would then be compared to the national average cost of producing the crop, according to a report published by the USDA's Economic Research Service.

According to the USDA, the 5-year average yield in the US was 3.24 tonnes per hectare.