View from the Cab: This is the life

If your New Year’s resolution is to enjoy life a little more, you will if you are a farmer.

Not only do we have decent market prices as of late, but President Trump signed the combined Fiscal Year 2021 omnibus appropriations and COVID-19 relief bill in late December. The president’s signature means more aid is coming to the farming community along with an increase in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance, or SNAP, benefits over the next several months.

The recent signing of the bill averted a government shutdown which many had feared could happen. This bill includes benefits for healthcare providers in the rural areas, tax incentive extensions for biofuel and renewable biofuel along with a water resources authorization bill that could help speed along waterway construction projects.

New help is also offered for contract livestock growers, cotton processors, those in the dairy industry, biofuel producers and hog producers who had to depopulate herds.

President Trump has demanded changes to the bill to remove what he refers to as “wasteful” items. He said he would send back a redlined item-by-item version accompanied by a formal request to Congress that insists certain funds get removed from the bill.

The $2.3 trillion spending bill includes $900 billion in stimulus provisions for households and businesses which are struggling. This is meant to support the economy as distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine continues around the country. Aside from the benefits to agriculture, the bill expands unemployment assistance, rental aid and forgivable loans to small business. Direct payments are also being sent to many Americans, although this has been a topic of debate recently.

If your direct deposit information is on file with the IRS already, you will likely see any federal stimulus money fairly quickly.

For a bit of a background, Congress approved the initial funding package overwhelmingly back on Dec. 21 – a measure the president called a disgrace, demanding checks be increased from $600 to $2,000 for Americans. After several days of criticizing the bill, Trump signed it into law last Sunday night rather than issuing a veto.