(The Center Square) – The Trump administration has proposed $12 billion in federal aid to American farmers, with many undergoing what Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins described as an economic crisis.
“This country and our farm economy is facing a crisis that we inherited, that most of these farmers have not seen in their lifetime,” Rollins said. “It’s just one crisis after another.”
The Department of Agriculture will deliver the aid through one-time direct payments under its new Farmer Bridge Assistance program, meant to carry farmers from their current struggles to a “golden age for agriculture” the administration has promised. Payments will be released by Feb. 28, 2026, but farmers who qualify and apply will know what they’re getting by the end of December, according to Rollins.
The program will provide $11 billion in “broad relief to United States row crop farmers who produce Barley, Chickpeas, Corn, Cotton, Lentils, Oats, Peanuts, Peas, Rice, Sorghum, Soybeans, Wheat, Canola, Crambe, Flax, Mustard, Rapeseed, Safflower, Sesame, and Sunflower” to help make up for losses they have experienced during the 2025 crop year, according to a press release from the department. The remaining $1 billion will go toward specialty crops not covered in the program, but it may be released on a different timeline than the other funds.
During a White House roundtable rolling out the relief package, President Donald Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also took some time to assure soybean farmers that – apart from the program – good things were in store for their industry, which has been hit particularly hard in the last year.
Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent spoke specifically to soybean farmers several times, saying Trump had struck a deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping committing China to purchasing $40 billion in soybean crops, according to Trump. Bessent quantified the commitment in metric tons.
“China committed to purchase at least 12 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans this growing season, followed by a minimum of 25 million tons annually for the next three years,” Bessent said.
The Agriculture Department said the new program was created to address “temporary trade market disruptions,” “elevated input costs, persistent inflation, and market losses from foreign competitors engaging in unfair trade practices that impede exports.”
Rollins and others present at a Monday roundtable attributed all of those problems to missteps of the previous administration, naming inflation, a lack of trade deals benefiting the agricultural sector and underprioritization of the sector as reasons for the industry’s current challenges.
