Details on bridge payments; deadline approaching

December 11, 2025 | Bethany Baratta

Earlier this week, the Trump administration announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will make $12 billion available through a Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) Program, a one-time payment to U.S. farmers in response to trade market disruptions and increased production costs.

What crops does it cover?

Up to $11 billion will be distributed among farmers who produce 20 commodities, including: barley, canola, chickpeas, corn, cotton, crambe, flax, lentils, mustard, oats, peanuts, peas, rapeseed, rice, safflower, sesame, sorghum, soybeans, sunflowers and wheat.

The remaining $1 billion will be reserved for other commodities, such as specialty crops and sugar, for example. The administration says details, including timelines for those payments, are still under development and require additional understanding of market impacts and economic needs.

Who qualifies?

Entities that make less than $900,000 a year will be eligible for aid, according to the USDA.

What’s next?

• Eligible farmers should ensure their 2025 acreage reporting is accurate by 4 p.m. on Dec. 19, 2025.
• Commodity-specific payment rates will be released by the end of December 2025. It will be determined by reported planted acres, cost-of-production estimates, supply and demand estimates and price and economic modeling, according to the USDA.
• Payments will be capped at $155,000 per farm or person, according to the USDA.
• Crop insurance linkage will not be required for the FBA Program; however, USDA strongly urges producers to take advantage of the new One Big Beautiful Bill Act risk management tools to best protect against price risk and volatility in the future.

When will payments arrive?

Farmers who qualify for the FBA Program can expect payments to be released by Feb. 28, 2026.

Make no mistake

Farmers want markets, not emergency government assistance.

“Ad hoc payments year after year do not provide farmers with the certainty needed to run a business,” says Iowa Soybean Association President Tom Adam.

Farmers are urging the administration to finalize policies to support domestic biofuel markets for U.S. soybean farmers, including issuing tax guidance for the 45Z Clean Fuel Production Credit and establishing 2026-2027 biofuel volumes and limiting incentives for imported biofuel inputs through the Renewable Fuel Standard.

Read the press release here.

Written by Bethany Baratta

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