President Donald Trump announced that his administration is providing $12 billion in one-time payments to farmers amid the United States’ recent trade battles.
According to the Trump administration, up to $11 billion will be used for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new Farmer Bridge Assistance Program, with funds from U.S. tariff revenues.
With the looming trade war, Nebraska farmers are bracing for another tough year as low corn and soybean prices, a shrinking foreign market and rising costs continue to shrink profit margins. The aid package is being met with both relief and frustration.
Nebraska Farmers Union President John Hansen said farmers need the assistance, but he said it highlights a larger structural issue.
“We’re not in a financial position that we can afford not to take it, because we need it. We ought to be looking at foreign policy as a whole,” Hansen said. “What Congress didn’t do; they didn't make it a commitment to working across the aisle to not only update the current farm bill but to make improvements on it.”
Hansen said the market hasn’t recovered from the Trump administration’s first trade war with China. Before the first round of tariffs in 2018, Hansen said China bought about 60% of U.S. soybeans, then dropping to around 50% at its conclusion. Hansen said it now sits around 40-45%.
“How long has the market been lost? Well, the market’s still lost,” Hansen said. “When you lose a customer of that size, they start looking at you differently. They went to South America and invested in infrastructure. That cost to producers is still there.”
Nebraska Farm Bureau President Mark McHargue echoed Hansen’s statements regarding a need for long-term policy commitments. In a post on the social media site X, McHargue said the federal funding is welcome but urged lawmakers for additional policy priorities to advance longer forum policy.
“President Trump’s announced plan to provide farmers with a ‘bridge’ payment given the current state of the agricultural economy is truly welcomed by Nebraska’s farmers,” the post said. “At the same time, we remain steadfast in our support for additional policy priorities including advancing U.S. Sen. Deb Fisher and U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith’s efforts to secure access to E15 year-round, and a federal legislative fix to California’s Proposition 12 and Massachusetts’ Question 3, as well as continued work to expand market access both domestically and abroad.”
Fisher provided support to President Trump on social media, saying that the farm assistance would get the farm economy back on track.
“Today’s farm assistance package is welcome news as we work to get the farm economy back on track. I applaud President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Collins for stepping up to ensure that America’s ag producers have the support they need to feed and fuel our world. I look forward to continuing to partner with the administration to expand trade opportunities that will create strong markets for Nebraska’s ag products,” she said in an X post.
The Ag Department has not yet announced when farmers will begin to receive payments through the programs.