US Announces $12 Billion Farmer Bridge Payments to Offset Trade Disruptions and High Input Costs
02 January 2026, Washington: President Donald J. Trump, along with U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins, senior Cabinet members, lawmakers, and farmer representatives from eight U.S. states, announced a $12 billion one-time farmer bridge payment package to support American farmers facing ongoing market disruptions and high production costs.
The assistance is intended to provide short-term relief until longer-term reforms under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) take effect from the 2026 crop year. These reforms include a 10–21 percent increase in reference prices for major commodities such as corn, soybeans, and wheat, with benefits scheduled to reach eligible farmers from October 1, 2026.
$11 Billion for Farmer Bridge Assistance Program
Of the total package, up to $11 billion will be distributed through the newly announced Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) Program. The program covers a wide range of row crops, including cereals, oilseeds, pulses, and fibre crops, and is designed to offset losses caused by trade disruptions, elevated input costs, inflationary pressures, and unfair competition from foreign exporters.
Payments will be calculated using a uniform national formula, based on planted acreage data from the Farm Service Agency, production cost estimates from the Economic Research Service, and yield and price benchmarks from the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates. The support applies to modeled losses incurred during the 2025 crop year.
Eligible farmers can expect payments by February 28, 2026, provided their 2025 acreage reporting is completed accurately by December 19, 2025. Commodity-specific payment rates will be announced later this month. Participation in crop insurance is not mandatory for FBA eligibility, though farmers are encouraged to adopt new risk-management tools introduced under OBBBA.
Support for Specialty Crops and Sugar
The remaining $1 billion will be reserved for commodities not covered under the FBA program, including specialty crops and sugar. USDA stated that program details for these sectors are still being finalised, pending further assessment of market impacts and economic needs.
Legal Framework and Administration
The bridge payments are authorised under the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act and will be administered by the Farm Service Agency. Farmers seeking clarification or engagement on the program can contact farmerbridge@usda.gov.
Administration’s Rationale
Secretary Rollins said the farm sector continues to experience the aftereffects of inflation, weak trade performance, and delayed disaster relief from the previous administration, which she said turned a trade surplus into a $50 billion agricultural trade deficit.
She noted that the bridge payments are meant to stabilise farm incomes while new trade agreements and market access initiatives begin to deliver results. According to Rollins, the objective is to reduce long-term reliance on ad hoc assistance by strengthening price protection, crop insurance, and trade-driven demand.
Broader Farmer-First Measures Since January 2025
Since January 2025, the administration has delivered over $30 billion in ad hoc assistance, including emergency commodity aid, specialty crop support, disaster relief, and block grants for uncovered losses in sugar and other sectors.
The OBBBA has also expanded crop insurance support, raised statutory reference prices for the first time in more than a decade, extended marketing assistance loans through 2031, strengthened sugar programs, invested over $34 billion in conservation initiatives, increased funding for agricultural trade promotion, and introduced tax reforms benefiting farm families.
Additional actions include measures to curb anti-competitive practices in farm inputs, reduce farm labour costs through H-2A reforms, expand USDA food purchases under Section 32, strengthen biofuels policy through year-round E15 and updated Renewable Fuel Standard targets, and secure new agricultural market access through multiple bilateral trade agreements.
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