Latest administration news: Trump gives himself high marks on economy and defends boat strikes

The president of the American Soybean Association said President Donald Trump’s new $12 billion farm aid package is a “band-aid on an open wound.”

Caleb Ragland told CNN farmers are grateful for the support, but federal assistance is not enough to help an industry that has faced a year of challenges and uncertainty.

“This is a good first step, but this will only take care of about a quarter of the losses that the average soybean farmer has accumulated this year,” he said.

Most of the aid — $11 billion — will be directed toward crop farmers through one-time payments under the Farmer Bridge Assistance program, a White House official told CNN ahead of the announcement.

However, farmers have had to contend with weather conditions and the high cost of production, including the costs of things like fertilizer, seeds and equipment, Ragland said. The costs of the commodities themselves “don’t reflect that,” he said.

“Without a change in the direction we’re going, we’re going to have a lot of farmers that are not able to stay in business and farm families that are no longer able to continue that tradition,” Ragland said, something that will impact rural communities and the economy as a whole.

Instead of federal assistance, Ragland said farmers need “market-based solutions” that will actually be sustainable, such as expanding where US crops are sold around the world.

“Without demand, we’re not able to receive a price that is economically sustainable for our crop,” he said.