Ag industry awaits details of proposed aid package

An agricultural aid package floated by the Trump administration will address slumping commodity prices in addition to export losses from ongoing tariff turmoil, according to House Agriculture Committee chair Glenn Thompson.

Thompson told industry publication Agri-Pulse last week that the current economic pressure on farmers stems from a “combination of not just tariffs, but just a really challenging farm economy” where inflation, although down, remains above average.

Thompson expressed confidence that the payment formula will reflect current commodity prices, a point of distinction from the previous Market Facilitation Program, which largely compensated producers for the impact of export losses.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said Dec. 2 that an aid program would be announced this week.

Specialty crop question

It remains unclear if specialty crops are to be included in any aid. The Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance (SCFBA) highlighted the need for targeted specialty crop assistance in a letter sent to Donald Trump on Oct. 6.

A Politico report in late October indicated that up to $12 billion in aid for farmers would be available once the government shutdown ends, which happened Nov. 12. But in a Nov. 18 Successful Farming report, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Stephen A. Vaden said that the USDA is “crunching numbers” as it considers potential relief for farmers. Vaden said that trade agreements with China, Southeast Asia, Pakistan and Japan “have resulted in major commitments to buy American commodities and USDA now needs to take into account the effect that those commodity purchases will have on the market … going into 2026.”

Substantial scope

SCFBA co-chair and National Potato Council CEO Kam Quarles told Spudman in late November that signals from Capitol Hill have left advocates “unclear if that initial $12 billion package includes anything for specialty crops. … We as specialty crops, potatoes specifically, we continue to push Congress to say look, it’s vastly better to get this right straight out of the gate than have to do it piecemeal over a number of months where, in that intervening time, you’ve got farms going out of business.”

Quarles said the sense NPC and other industry advocates are getting is that the relief needed is “very substantial,” with estimates showing that russet potato growers alone may be underwater to the tune of $486 million.

Quarles pointed to the Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops program as an example of successful relief for growers of all crops.

During a Dec. 2 White House Cabinet meeting, Rollins told Trump, “We do have a bridge payment. We’ll be announcing with you next week,” according to reports from Reuters and the University of Illinois’ Farm Policy News outlet.

Rollins specifically singled out “farmers [facing] low crop prices and billions in lost soybean sales to China” during the meeting.

John Newton, American Farm Bureau Federation vice president of public policy and economic analysis, advocated for specialty crop aid in a Nov. 24 online article.