Largest beneficiary of Trump's tariff payments? An alternative farm lender, ARM.
The Trump Administration has paid farmers billions to offset losses from ongoing trade wars, but millions have also gone to an alternative farm lender.
Agrifund LLC, which does business as Ag Resource Management, or ARM, has received more trade mitigation money than anyone else, according to a Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting analysis of U.S. Department of Agriculture data.
Through almost two years of payments, the total is about $75 million.
Under USDA rules, farmers can assign government payments they’re eligible for to third parties. If a producer has debt with ARM, it’s required.
The Wall Street Journal reported ARM charged interest rates of about 8 percent. Moore didn’t want to specifically say what his company’s rates were, but he said the rates could be higher than what the paper reported.
In November, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, which includes Missouri and Nebraska, reported loan repayment rates were declining.
If farmers do have loans with traditional lenders, the extra debt from an alternative loan may affect their ability to pay back their other debt.
https://investigatemidwest.org/2019/12/26/the-largest-single-beneficiary-of-trumps-tariff-payments-an-alternative-farm-lender/
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