Federal Program Offers $12b To 'Bridge The Gap' For Farmers

By Shay Frank

Farmers will see $12 billion available to aid them as they face trade market disruptions and increased production costs, but some Ohio advocates said the program is temporary relief for a long-term problem.

The Farmer Bridge Assistance Program will provide $11 billion to major row crop farmers and $1 billion to specialty crop farmers across the country.

"$11 billion is going to be your traditional crops, what you traditionally think of when you think of Ohio agriculture — corn, soybeans, wheat, those commodities," said Brad Bales, senior director of state and national policy for Ohio Farm Bureau.

Nicole Wolcott, federal policy coordinator for the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association, said she and some of the specialty crop farmers in their network are weary of these one-off bailouts that they said primarily benefit larger farms.

"I was on a call yesterday with a diversified vegetable specialty crop farmer and he was like, ‘Yeah, I'm just not paying attention to it. You know, I never qualify for these programs or I never get something that I deserve. So what's the point?" she said.