DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - On Monday, December 8th, President Donald Trump announced US farmers would have access to $12 billion dollars in one-time bridge payments.

$11 billion of that will be used for row crop farmers who produce barley, corn, oats, rice, soybean, wheat and other products.

The funding is intended to ease the burden on farmers from trade market disruptions and increased production costs, according to a USDA statement.

"The aid is is welcomed by farmers, because it is helping make up for part of their shortfall in income that they're seeing," said Doug Gucker, a U of I extension educator in commercial agriculture and small farms. "It will just merely please their lenders is what it's going to do. It's going to assure that they get to probably farm another year."

Macon cou

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