2020 candidate Klobuchar releases plan to help US farmers

Democratic presidential candidate Amy Klobuchar (KLOH’-buh-shar) has come out with a plan to help farmers that includes raising the debt limit on farm bankruptcies and increasing access to government loan programs.

The Minnesota senator is promoting the proposals during a weekend visit to Iowa.

Low commodity prices, flooding and President Donald Trump’s trade dispute with China have hit family farms hard. Bankruptcy filings for farm operations in the upper Midwest have doubled since June 2014, when commodity prices began to drop.

For bankruptcy filings, Klobuchar wants to raise the liability cap from $4.2 million to $10 million, allowing more farmers to seek relief.

She’d also increase the Agriculture Department’s direct operating loan limit from $400,000 to $600,000 and the farm ownership loan limit from $600,000 to $650,000.