The US Department of Agriculture has announced US$12bn in government aid would be allocated to American farmers to ease the burden of “temporary trade market disruptions and increased production costs”, World Grain wrote.
Available through the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program (FBA), the relief initiative had been instigated by US President Donald Trump, US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins was quoted as saying in the 10 December report.
“President Trump will not let our farmers be left behind, so he directed our team to build a bridge programme to see quick relief while the president’s dozens of new trade deals and new market access take effect,” she said.
“The plan we are announcing today ensures American farmers can continue to plan for the next crop year.”
The move was welcomed by agriculture and farm advocacy groups, including the American Soybean Association (ASA), which represents 500,000 US soyabean farmers.
“The FBA a positive first step to restore certainty as soyabean farmers market this year’s crop and plan for the 2026 planting season,” said Caleb Ragland, ASA president.
“We look forward to working with Congress and the administration on broader support for the farm economy, including long-term, market-driven solutions that strengthen demand for US soya and allow farmers to compete and thrive in the global market.”
Available as one-time bridge payments to farmers who qualify by 28 February, the payments are intended to assist US agriculture producers “until historic investments from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, including reference prices which are set to increase between 10% and 21% for major covered commodities such as soyabeans, corn and wheat, reach eligible farmers on 1 October,” the USDA said.
US$11bn of the allocated funds would be used to aid US row crop farmers who produce barley, chickpeas, corn, cotton, lentils, oats, peanuts, peas, rice, sorghum, soyabeans, wheat, canola, crambe, flax, mustard, rapeseed, safflower, sesame and sunflower.
The remaining US$1bn in payments were expected to be available to farmers producing commodities not covered under the programme.
The USDA said the payments came in response to market disruptions, elevated input costs, persistent inflation and market losses from foreign competitors engaging in trade practices that were holding back exports.
