Farmers May Need Emergency Market Aid, Ag Leaders Say

By Ryan Hanrahan

Federal crop safety net changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — including enhancements to the Price Loss Coverage and Agriculture Risk Coverage programs — were designed to help an agriculture industry facing a challenging economic situation.

While agriculture industry leaders and important government figures are saying those changes should help, they’re beginning to acknowledge that they may not be enough — or may not come soon enough — to make a meaningful impact for farmers. At events this past week, both Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, addressed the potential need for additional federal assistance for farmers, on top of the changes made in the OBBBA.

Brownfield Ag News’ Carah Hart reported that Duvall “says farmers might need more federal assistance to make it through 2026.”

“I’m beginning to hear in the last few weeks, especially in the southeast part of the country starting with the Bootheel of Missouri south, it’s time for the USDA and President Trump to start talking about that,'” Duvall said, according to Hart’s reporting. “Duvall tells Brownfield farmers have mixed feelings about more ad-hoc assistance; while farmers would rather have demand from open, international markets to sell their commodities, it’s also a tough farm economy.”