What Does the New Farmer Bridge Assistance Mean?

By Brad Lubben

At a Glance

• Roughly $11 billion is expected to be distributed based on the 2025 crop year.
• Payments are intended to arrive in early 2026 to help bridge cash-flow gaps.
• Additional farm program and safety-net payments are expected later in the year.
• Questions remain about how much relief the program provides relative to ongoing cost and market pressures.

This Policy Report column was first published by Nebraska Farmer on Jan. 7, 2026, and is excerpted here with permission.

In early December, President Donald Trump personally announced a $12 billion assistance package for farmers. 

The assistance was described as help to address export losses from trade conflicts and unfair trade practices, as well as economic losses from higher production costs and inflationary pressure. The package included $11 billion in a Farmer Bridge Assistance program for row crop commodities, along with $1 billion for specialty crops and other assistance.

FBA should provide substantial assistance and cash flow for crop producers in early 2026 before the farm program improvements passed last July begin to pay out in October. 

The assistance was specifically described as a bridge over the gap between previous market returns and government assistance and the pending farm program support, as well as the promise of improved economic conditions for agriculture.