This week, President Donald Trump was making the rounds of predominantly Republican states to tell voters about his policies.

President Donald Trump: "Thank you."

Over the past 10 months, rural America has been given access to more than $70 billion in relief funds. Critics blame the trade war and the war with Iran for making the aid necessary. 

In February, 560,000 row and specialty crop farmers received a portion of $12 billion in bridge payments. The money was released to offset what the administration labeled as unfair market disruptions. 

In the same month, nearly $2 billion was sent to cattle producers via the Emergency Livestock Relief Program for losses due to drought, wildfires and floods.

This September, $10 billion was slated to be sent via the Office of Rural Health Transformation to expand the medical workforce and upgrade hospital technology. The total expended will be $50 billion over the next five years. 

President Donald Trump: “And on Monday, I announced the Harvest Fuel Relief Program, providing our farmers with $8 billion to offset diesel costs in the harvest season, including an estimated $400 million is coming to Iowa farmers." 

 Announced on Monday, the $8 billion will be a one time payment for farmers as part of the Harvest Fuel Relief fund to offset soaring diesel and fertilizer costs. 

Ben Johnston, COO, Kapitus: "I think that the government is looking at the impact of these high fuel prices and, quite frankly, the impact of some of the tariff policy that we've put in place and seeing the really damaging effects that these policies have had on the local farming communities and are trying to find a way to provide some support there."

At the end of the week, another plan to increase the availability of the domestic fertilizer supply was released. The administration will inject $1.34 billion into eight fertilizer manufacturing projects through USDA’s Fertilizer Investment & Expansion for Long-Term Domestic Supply or FIELDS Program. 

There are four companies controlling nearly 80% of the nitrogen fertilizer production in the U.S. The administration says the investment will reduce nitrogen fertilizer prices by more than 4%, increase domestic nitrogen production by nearly the same and increase potash production by nearly 40% once the projects are operational. 

For Market to Market, I’m David Miller.