Chuck Grassley will apply for Trump's federal farm bailout cash for the second time

For the second time, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley will apply for financial assistance from the federal government to lessen the impact of trade tariffs on his northeast Iowa farm.

Grassley's spokesman, Michael Zona, confirmed Friday that the senator, who farms with his family in Butler County, will sign up to receive funds from the $16 billion trade assistance package announced this week by U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue.

Direct payments to farmers make up $14.5 billion of the total the Trump administration is offering. The funds are part of the administration's attempt to lessen the impact of the ongoing trade war with China. President Donald Trump has said he'll raise tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars of Chinese goods, and the Chinese government has promised to respond in kind.

Grassley, a Republican from New Hartford, also applied for federal money in October during the first round of federal farm bailouts, which totaled $12 billion. Zona did not answer a question about how much money Grassley received from that round of payments.

Zona said in a statement that Grassley participates in farm programs for which he is legally eligible and "receives no special treatment."

"As a family farmer who experiences the same processes with the federal government after downturns like other farmers in Iowa, Sen. Grassley brings firsthand knowledge and experience on behalf of agriculture and rural America to the policy-making tables in Washington," Zona said. 

Grassley has praised Trump's payments to farmers but said that in the long term farmers would prefer markets to sell their goods rather than government aid.

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Grassley owns 750 acres where he grows corn and soybeans with his son and grandson.

In October, Grassley said he owns the farmland and buys half of the seed, half of the fertilizer and half of the agricultural chemicals. His son provides the rest, plus the farm machinery and most of the labor. The senator receives 50 percent of the corn and 50 percent of the soybeans and he markets his own crops. He also gets half of the federal farm payments.

Grassley also said in October that he anticipated splitting the first round of federal bailout money with his son.

The new payments to farmers will be provided county by county, based on the acres of production, USDA officials said this week.

The money is slated to be sent to farmers in three installments, with the first check sent as soon as July. The last check could come early next year, depending on whether the U.S. has an agreement with China.