Feds Unveil $12B 'Bridge' Aid Package for Farmers

Beleaguered this year by complaints about the effects of tariffs, high input costs, low prices and poor trade prospects, the Trump administration rolled out a long-anticipated aid package Monday. 

President Trump, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, U.S. lawmakers and farmers from 8 states were present for the announcement of $12 billion available in one-time bridge payments to farmers.

Tariff revenue is being used to fund the payments, which the administration said is in response to “temporary” trade market disruptions and increased production costs still impacting farmers, “following four years of disastrous Biden Administration policies that resulted in record high input prices and zero new trade deals.” 

Up to $11 billion will be used for the Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) Program, which provides broad relief to row crop farmers who producing barley, chickpeas, corn, cotton, lentils, oats, peanuts, peas, rice, sorghum, soybeans, wheat, canola, flax, mustard, rapeseed, safflower, sesame and sunflower. 

FBA will help address market disruptions, elevated input costs, persistent inflation, and market losses, “from foreign competitors engaging in unfair trade practices that impede exports,” the USDA said in a lengthy statement Monday. 

In a statement, Rollins said Trump directed the USDA to, “build a bridge program to see quick relief while the president’s dozens of new trade deals and new market access take effect, 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.”

The FBA program applies, according to the USDA, "simple, proportional support to producers using a uniform formula to cover a portion of modeled losses during the 2025 crop year." The national loss average is based on FSA reported planted acres, Economic Research Service cost of production estimates, World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates yields and prices and economic modeling.

Farmers who qualify for the FBA program can expect payments to be released by Feb. 28. The USDA said eligible farmers should ensure their 2025 acreage reporting is “factual and accurate” by 5 p.m. EST on Dec. 19.