By Jamie Martin
Farmers across the United States continue to face financial pressure due to low crop prices, rising input costs, and market uncertainty. Many operations are struggling to remain profitable. To provide immediate relief, USDA has announced $12 billion in economic assistance for the 2025 crop year.
Most of this funding, $11 billion, supports the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program. This program is designed to provide temporary financial help to row crop producers while long-term improvements under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act are prepared for fiscal year 2026. The remaining $1 billion is set aside for specialty crop and sugar producers, although further information on these payments is still being reviewed.
The program offers flat per-acre payments for planted acres of eligible crops. Payment rates are based on national loss estimates developed using acreage data, production costs, and yield and price forecasts. Rice and cotton producers receive higher rates due to larger losses, while corn, wheat, and soybean growers receive lower but still meaningful payments.
Corn is expected to receive the largest share of total payments, followed by soybeans, wheat, cotton, rice, and sorghum. Midwest and Corn Belt states are projected to receive most of the funding because of their high concentration of eligible crop acres.
Farmers who submitted their acreage reports to the Farm Service Agency by December 2025 will receive pre-filled applications. These must be reviewed and returned to local FSA offices to qualify for payments. The program includes income eligibility limits, and payments are capped at $155,000 per individual or entity.
USDA notes that the program will not fully cover total farm losses but provides important short-term financial support as producers continue to face challenging economic conditions.
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Categories: National