USDA says nearly $840 million in aid paid to farmers to date

U.S. Department of Agriculture has paid out nearly $840 million to farmers to date as part of a promised $12 billion aid program rolled out by President Donald Trump last July to offset losses from the imposition of tariffs on American exports. A total of $837.8 million to date has been paid out with the top five commodities being soybeans, wheat, corn, dairy and hogs, USDA told Reuters. The five states that received the highest amount of aid were Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Indiana and Minnesota.The aid delivered remains a fraction of the promised amount at a time when the American farmers are struggling with loss of export markets from trade wars.Several trade groups such as dairy farmers have complained that the amount they received was far below their losses.The Trump administration in late May announced tariffs of 25 percent on steel imports and 10 percent on aluminum imports, prompting retaliation from top trading partners that have spilled into agriculture.