Some of the food aid the United States distributes to other countries comes from U.S. farmers. According to archived USAID data, the agency bought more than 1 million metric tons of food from U.S. producers in fiscal year 2023.
It’s a market growers depend on, but it’s been unpredictable lately because of the freeze the Trump administration ordered on foreign aid.
Much of the food distributed by USAID comes from small farms across the U.S. It’s pooled in grain elevators, then sold to the federal government for food aid. One of the growers is John Boyd, Jr.
“Soybeans and corn ended up in the USAID program — that’s grown here from Boyd farms in Boydton, Virginia,” he said.
Boyd is a fourth-generation farmer and head of the National Black Farmers Association. He was happy to hear that food purchases and deliveries under existing USAID agreements have resumed.
Still, it’s unclear what’ll happen to — for example — the flagship Food for Peace program. That makes it hard for Boyd to plan for planting season next month.
“We put in the ground between $75,000 to $100,000 just in seed,” he said. “We put it in the ground, and I don’t know if I’m going to get it back.”
USAID food aid programs are a steady market for Boyd, which helps as he struggles with high costs and the low prices he’s getting for his crops.
That’s about $9 a bushel this year for soybeans, he said. “Which is below break even point. I need to be at about $11 a bushel to even break even.”
Virginia Houston, director of government affairs for the American Soybean Association, is also worried about the future.
“It’s our understanding that USAID — given its current nonexistence — Food for Peace future purchases are on hold still,” she said.
Houston added that U.S. farmers really want to see programs like Food for Peace continue.
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