US to buy US$3 billion worth of agricultural goods from farmers -Trump

US President Donald Trump on May 9 said the United States would buy US$3 billion worth of dairy, meat and produce from farmers as unemployment soars and the prices that slaughterhouses pay farmers for animals have fallen in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Members of the Massachusetts Army National Guard distribute free milk, offered instead of dairy farmers throwing away excess milk due to lower demand amid the Covid-19 outbreak, in Boston, Massachusetts, May 7, 2020. (Photo: Reuters)
Members of the Massachusetts Army National Guard distribute free milk, offered instead of dairy farmers throwing away excess milk due to lower demand amid the Covid-19 outbreak, in Boston, Massachusetts, May 7, 2020. (Photo: Reuters)

"Starting early next week, at my order, the USA will be purchasing, from our Farmers, Ranchers & Specialty Crop Growers, 3 Billion Dollars worth of Dairy, Meat & Produce for Food Lines & Kitchens," Trump wrote in a post on Twitter.

* The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on May 9 reported 1,274,036 cases of the new coronavirus, an increase of 25,996 cases from its previous count, and said the number of deaths had risen by 1,557 to 77,034.

The CDC reported its tally of cases of the respiratory illness known as COVID-19, caused by the new coronavirus, as of 4 p.m. ET on May 8, compared with its count a day earlier.

The CDC figures do not necessarily reflect cases reported by individual states.

Reuters