Half of Farmer Bridge Assistance Already Allocated, USDA Says

AgWeek’s Noah Fish reported that “the U.S. Department of Agriculture already has obligated more than $6 billion in payments under its new Farmer Bridge Assistance program just days after enrollment opened.”

“The program, intended to help farmers facing tight margins and weak commodity prices for the 2025 crop year, has drawn strong early participation from producers across the Midwest,” Fish reported. “As of March 3, USDA had received more than 277,000 applications and approved about 231,000 of them, according to Richard Fordyce, USDA undersecretary for farm production and conservation.”

“‘It’s really been really successful,’ Fordyce said in a March 4 interview,” according to Fish’s reporting. “‘As of yesterday, we have obligated for payment just a touch over $6 billion.'”

“The $12 billion program was announced in December to provide economic assistance to producers of major farm program crops, including corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton and rice. Payments are meant to offset weak prices and market disruptions tied to export tariffs during the 2025 crop year,” Fish reported. “Early data shows strong participation from the Midwest, and Fordyce said corn and soybean producers currently account for the largest share of applications.”

“‘In the first few days, the Midwest, upper Midwest are the hottest on the heat map right now,’ he said,” according to Fish’s reporting. “That could change somewhat as enrollment continues, he added, because crops with higher per-acre payments, including cotton and rice, are grown in the South.”

Payment Rates for Specialty Crop Aid Expected by April

Politico’s Rachel Shin reported that “Deputy Ag Secretary Stephen Vaden said specialty crop bridge payment rates will be released by early April. He said USDA is still determining payment rates for the $1 billion reserved for specialty crop and sugar farmers.”

“‘I suspect that we will have those payment rates by the end of this month or, at the latest, very early April,’ Vaden said on the “AG Bull Media” podcast Saturday,” Shin reported. “‘Once we have those payment rates, we will publish them … and then march forth with the payment part of it.'”

“Vaden (also) said the tariff rate on sugar products isn’t high enough to help American domestic sugar producers,” Shin reported. “‘The tariff level for sugar imports has not been changed in more than a decade,’ Vaden said. ‘That tariff is no longer high enough to discourage the importation of cheap, subsidized foreign sugar to compete with American sugar producers.’ He added that he hopes the administration will ‘study and perhaps raise those base level tariff amounts.'”

“Sugar beet, cotton and rice are the commodities ‘in the most financial distress’ because of their high costs of production and trade issues, Vaden said,” according to Shin’s reporting.

Ag Chair Boozman Calls for More Farm Aid

Bloomberg’s Steven T. Dennis reported that “the Republican Senate Agriculture Committee chair called for new federal aid to farmers in the wake of a spike in gasoline, diesel and fertilizer prices driven by the US military offensive against Iran.”

“‘I think very definitely that they’re going to need additional help,’ Senator John Boozman said in an interview at the Capitol Monday evening. ‘If you’re growing something in the ground right now, you’re losing money,'” Dennis reported. “Boozman said he was already seeing a need for Congress to pass a farm aid package before the war, noting winter storm damage as well as disaster relief needs in states like California and North Carolina.”

“The Trump administration is weighing a range of options to combat surging oil and gasoline prices, according to people familiar with the matter,” Dennis reported.