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Farmers are struggling in the pandemic economy

A study finds emergency government money will make up more than a third of farm income.

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Dairy cows in a field at Grazing Plains Farm near Newton in central Kansas.
Dairy cows in a field at Grazing Plains Farm near Newton in central Kansas.
Courtesy of Jason Schmidt

Farmers already hard hit by a trade war are now facing huge economic hurdles because of COVID-19. Emergency aid from the federal government is helping — this year, payments total about $33 billion, according to the University of Missouri’s Food & Agricultural Policy Research Institute. Despite that, many farmers are still struggling and wonder how they will make it through the year, including a Kansas farmer who is operating on about half of what he thought he’d make.

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