Nearly $10 Billion in Farmer Bridge Assistance Allocated

RFD-TV’s Tony St. James and Marion Kirkpatrick reported that “the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has already sent nearly $9.6 billion in Farmer Bridge Assistance payments as crop producers continue to face weak prices and high costs. According to the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), many farms are still operating at a loss or near break-even, even with federal help in place.”

“Almost 500,000 applications have been approved, and corn received the largest share at about $3.45 billion, followed by soybeans at $2.27 billion. Wheat, cotton, and rice also accounted for major shares of the federal aid,” St. James and Kirkpatrick reported. “The support is helping cash flow, but it is not covering the full downturn. The report said all nine principal row crops are still expected to post negative returns, even after accounting for federal assistance.”

“Iowa producers have received the most assistance so far ($843 million), followed by Texas ($784 million) and Illinois ($765 million), which reflects where the majority of eligible row-crop acres are located,” St. James and Kirkpatrick reported. “The report adds that more pressure could still build across the agricultural sector. Specialty crop and sugar payment details are still being finalized, and rising fertilizer and fuel costs may keep the need for added support on the table.”

The Farm Bureau’s Faith Parum and Cameron Castillo reported that “given the historic economic losses facing the American agriculture sector, the FBA was designed to serve as an economic bridge for farmers ahead of the Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage enhancements enacted in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which take effect later this year.”

USDA Also Boosting 2023 and 2024 Natural Disaster Payments

Progressive Farmer’s Chris Clayton reported that “farmers hit with natural disasters in 2023 and 2024 who filed claims under the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP) will receive a second ‘top-up’ payment starting next week, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced (this past) Friday.”

“USDA announced farmers will receive a second payment under the SDRP that will essentially double the aid they receive under the program. USDA has paid $6.7 billion so far under the SDRP,” Clayton reported. “SDRP payments initially had a 35% payment factor, meaning producers saw payments equaling 35% of the allowable economic loss reported. After further analysis, Rollins said USDA is increasing the payment factor to 70%.”

“‘So, this is a significant increase in additional funds for our farmers and ranchers,’ Rollins said,” according to Clayton’s reporting. “Producers with approved applications will see their payments double, and those payments should start arriving next week. USDA also extended the deadline for SDRP applications from April 30 to Aug. 12, Rollins said. ‘This extension gives our producers and our FSA team — our great FSA team — more time to address any program application changes that might impact payments,’ she said.”

📢 Heads up for producers with approved program applications for losses due to 2023-2024 natural disasters!

USDA is maximizing disaster assistance support through a second Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP) payment to eligible producers. Application deadline has been… pic.twitter.com/2xKlvooqzE

— Dept. of Agriculture (@USDA) April 24, 2026

Clayton reported that Richard Fordyce, USDA’s undersecretary for farm production and conservation “said one reason signup was extended was to address quality losses. At least some producers and local Farm Service Agency (FSA) staff might not have understood what qualifies as a quality loss under the program. ‘So, we are doing a re-education of staff,’ Fordyce said. ‘We’re working through some policy changes on how we address quality.'”

Agri-Pulse’s Noah Wicks reported that “the program is funded through a December 2024 stopgap spending bill that included $100 billion in total disaster assistance, including $21 billion specifically allocated for agricultural losses from hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and other weather events.”

“So far, the agency has provided over $6.7 billion in payments, according to the press release,” Wicks reported. “Producers in Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine and Massachusetts are not eligible for SDRP program payments, as their states will be receiving block grant funding for crop losses.”