NY, CT Become First States to Offer Tariff Relief to Farmers

Reuters’ Jasper Ward reported that “New York farmers can start submitting applications for up to $25,000 in relief from the state as part of a $30 million aid effort aimed ​at easing the hit to farmers from Republican U.S. President Donald Trump’s ‌tariffs, Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul said on Monday. Over the last year, Trump has imposed an array of tariffs, including a global 10% tariff and retaliatory tariffs on China, which led Beijing to levy its ​own tariffs on U.S. soybean exports.”

“‘The tariffs imposed by the Trump administration ​are reckless and damaging to so many of our industries, including ⁠our agricultural producers, who rely so heavily on the forces of international markets,’ ​Hochul said in a statement,” according to Ward’s reporting. “‘I promised to stand up and fight for our ​farmers and I’m proud that our Agricultural Resiliency Against Tariffs Program will provide the much-needed relief to New York’s farmers who feed our communities.'”

“The program, which will be funded by a $30 million ​allocation in the state budget, will grant direct payments starting at $1,000 to eligible ​agricultural producers, including dairy farmers and those working with livestock, specialty crops and aquaculture,” Ward reported. “A large swath of Trump’s tariffs was determined to have been illegal earlier this year ​by the U.S. Supreme ​Court, and Hochul’s ⁠move comes as U.S. importers scramble to seek refunds. The administration is in the process of replicating many of the ​levies under more-tested legal authorities.”

“Hochul’s office reported the state’s farmers ​faced increased ⁠expenses of $20,000 annually and escalating costs on essential imports like grain and feed as a result of tariffs,” Ward reported.

Newsday’s James T. Madore reported that “to be eligible for the state relief, farms must have at least two-thirds of their federal gross income in excess of $30,000 derived from agricultural activity, grow eligible crops in the state and provide eligibility and production data that’s certified by a financial professional.”

“Austin Weaver, an executive in upstate Watertown for lender Farm Credit East, said the state program would be a boost to the struggling agricultural sector,” Madore reported. “‘These funds will help offset financial losses in an industry that has been impacted by federal tariff policies,’ he said earlier this month after the state budget was adopted.”

Connecticut Also Created ‘Federal Cuts Response Fund’

Fox 61’s Dalton Zbierski reported in mid-May that “Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont leaned into the state’s newly formed Federal Cuts Response Fund on Wednesday and allocated $22.5 million to help local dairy farmers during a dire time of need.”

“Lamont emphasizes in a release that his actions are influenced by recent decisions made at a federal level. He says small, family-owned businesses have been put at risk across the country,” Zbierski reported. “According to the governor, federally set milk prices favor large corporate farms over family-owned dairies like the ones in Connecticut. He adds that President Donald Trump’s tariff policies have increased the costs of production necessities like fertilizer and farm equipment.”

Trump Admin Seeking $11 Billion in Farmer Aid

Bloomberg’s Michael Hirtzer, Erin Ailworth, and Elizabeth Elkin reported that “President Donald Trump had a surprise for the farmers he invited to dinner at the White House (this past) Thursday: a request to Congress for $11.1 billion in assistance that would amount to the second bailout of the year for the beleaguered agriculture sector.”

“The appeal to Congress is part of a supplemental funding package that includes defense spending. It seeks $10 billion in assistance for growers of crops such as corn, soybeans and rice, along with $1.1 billion for Florida producers affected by winter storms late in 2025 and earlier in 2026,” Hirtzer, Ailworth and Elkin reported. “The aid request was one of several items rolled out by the administration this week to woo farmers, who have formed a key part of the president’s political constituency but have been hurt by the backlash to some of his more controversial actions, including imposing sweeping global tariffs and launching a war with Israel against Iran.”

“It all comes as the Iran war resulted in soaring costs for fuel and fertilizer, further squeezing farmers already dealing with Trump’s tariff regime that crimped US crop exports to the world’s top buyer China and also raised prices for imported raw materials,” Hirtzer, Ailworth and Elkin reported. “The new aid request follows a separate $12 billion package, first announced in December, that started paying out earlier this year. Taken together, the two packages would be roughly equal to the $23 billion in payments to farms for losses linked to international trade disruptions during Trump’s first term.”