Farmer Aid Expected Within Weeks, Ag Secretary Says

by Ryan Hanrahan

Reuters’ Susan Heavey and Leah Douglas reported earlier this week that “The Trump administration expects to announce an aid package for U.S. farmers within two weeks and a deal on Chinese soybean purchases, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on Monday, without providing further details.”

“The administration of President Donald Trump has said for months that it would issue aid for farmers hit by low crop prices and trade disputes, but has not yet issued any plan or amount for the aid. U.S. farmers lost billions in soybean sales this year as top buyer China turned to Brazil and Argentina amid tense trade talks with Washington,” Heavey and Douglas reported. “‘We’ll have an announcement probably in the next week or two on what that’s going to look like,’ Rollins, the head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, told CNBC of the farmer aid.”

“The American Farm Bureau Federation said on Monday that the aid is ‘urgently needed’ as farmers face the compounding pressures of higher input costs and lower crop prices,” Heavey and Douglas reported. “In October, after Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea, China agreed to buy 12 million metric tons of American soybeans through January, according to the Trump administration. China purchased nearly 1.6 million metric tons of soybeans over three days last week, its largest single-week tally in two years, buoying crop prices.”

Economists Say Aid Likely to Keep Input Prices High

AgWeb’s Tyne Morgan reported that “As financial pressure continues to grip agriculture, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins says trade aid could come as soon as next week. But with ongoing discussions about potential tariff-related assistance, the November Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor found economists are mixed about the possible impact on the farm economy and whether the payments will keep input prices high.”

“Farm Journal’s November Ag Economists’ Monthly Monitor reflects a divided view on whether additional trade aid is needed,” Morgan reported. “Exactly half of economists say yes, trade aid is still necessary, while the other half say no.”

“But economists overwhelmingly agree on two key risks: 1. U.S. agriculture has become too reliant on ad hoc payments. A striking 94% say the industry has become ‘too addicted’ to emergency programs. And it’s not just farmers, but also industry and input suppliers who have become reliant upon these payments. Many economists say repeated aid packages distort land values, cash rents, equipment purchases and overall decision-making,” Morgan reported. “2. One hundred percent of economists argue tariff-aid payments will keep fertilizer prices high. Every economist surveyed says tariff aid would keep input prices elevated, particularly fertilizer.”

Policy Groups Ask USDA to Make Aid ‘Needs-Based’

Progressive Farmer’s Chris Clayton reported that “Policy groups with a diverse mix of views are urging USDA to focus on ‘commonsense financial accountability’ as the department prepares an expected aid package for farmers.”

“In a letter to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, the groups said they don’t necessarily agree on the need for USDA to dip into emergency spending to help farmers with aid payments, but any trade bailout should be ‘needs-based’ to reduce both waste and fraud,” Clayton reported. “The groups noted in their letter, ‘at a minimum, if USDA issues payments, it should target funds based on need — using clear, accurate eligibility and economic data — and do so in a fully transparent manner.’”

“The letter sent this week comes from the R Street Institute, Farm Action Fund, Land Core, National Taxpayers Union, Soil & Climate Alliance, Taxpayers for Common Sense and Taxpayers Protection Alliance,” Clayton reported. “The groups pointed out in their letter that USDA will spend $35.2 billion this year on supplemental and ad-hoc disaster assistance, ‘dwarfing all other direct programmatic expenditures to farmers.’ It should be noted those aid payments, while paid in 2025, focus on economic losses in 2024 and losses from natural disasters in 2023 and 2024.”

“The groups also called for broad transparency by USDA in issuing payments to reduce the risk of ‘fraud, waste, or other misuse,’” Clayton reported.

Farmer Aid Expected Within Weeks, Ag Secretary Says was originally published by Farmdoc.