USDA earmarks $12 billion in aid to US producers

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) this week announced $12 billion in government funds will be made available to American farmers to ease the burden of “temporary trade market disruptions and increased production costs.” Agriculture and farm advocacy groups praised the announcement.

The funds, available as one-time bridge payments released to farmers who qualify by Feb. 28, are intended to assist US agriculture producers “until historic investments from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, including reference prices which are set to increase between 10% and 21% for major covered commodities such as soybeans, corn and wheat, reach eligible farmers on Oct. 1,” the department said.

The Farmer Bridge Assistance Program (FBA) will comprise $11 billion of the allotted funds, the USDA said, and be used to aid US row crop farmers who grow barley, chickpeas, corn, cotton, lentils, oats, peanuts, peas, rice, sorghum, soybeans, wheat, canola, crambe, flax, mustard, rapeseed, safflower, sesame and sunflower.

Farmers engaged with commodities not categorized under the FBA are slated to receive the remaining $1 billion in payments. Farmers of specialty crops, such as sugar, are included in this group, for which “details, including timelines for those payments, are still under development and require additional understanding of market impacts and economic needs,” the USDA said.

The department said the payments come in response to market disruptions, elevated input costs, persistent inflation, and market losses from foreign competitors engaging in unfair trade practices that impede exports. The funds will be allotted proportionally using a uniform formula to cover a portion of modeled losses during the 2025 crop year based on Farm Service Agency reported planted acres, Economic Research Service cost-of-production estimates, World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates yields and prices and economic modeling.

US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said President Donald Trump was behind the relief to farmers.

“President Trump will not let our farmers be left behind, so he directed our team to build a bridge program to see quick relief while the president’s dozens of new trade deals and new market access take effect,” she said. “The plan we are announcing today ensures American farmers can continue to plan for the next crop year. It is imperative we do what it takes to help our farmers, because if we cannot feed ourselves, we will no longer have a country.”

Numerous agriculture and farmer industry advocacy groups commented on the USDA’s announcement: