Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said on Dec. 2 that she will announce an aid package for farmers next week.
During a Cabinet meeting, Rollins said that Trump has opened overseas markets to make farmers depend less on government aid.
“We do have a bridge payment we’ll be announcing with you next week,” she said.
She did not specify how much the payment will be.
During an appearance on NewsNation last month, Rollins said that the farming community has had a difficult time.
“There’s no doubt that the farm economy for a lot of reasons is really, really struggling right now,” she said.
Rollins said farmers should fare better because of the soybean deal the United States made with China, in which Beijing agreed to buy 12 million metric tons of the product from the United States before the end of the year, and at least 25 million metric tons per year over the next three years.
China, which previously purchased around half of all U.S. soybean exports, stopped buying soybeans from the United States during negotiations with Washington over tariffs. This absence hit farms hard.
In an Oct. 14 letter to President Donald Trump, National Farmers Union President Rob Larew requested that farmers receive economic assistance.
“Family farmers and ranchers face severe economic challenges and a deepening crisis if they do not receive immediate assistance,” he wrote. “Recently enacted trade policies and the resulting actions by other countries have wreaked havoc on our markets, driving commodity prices far below the cost of production.”
Larew wrote that the payments should be directed to family farms and that big agricultural entities should not receive economic aid.
He also said that “resources must be dedicated to developing new, high-value domestic markets for American crops and enhancing existing markets, including local and regional markets.”
“President Trump continues to put Farmers First and provide relief to American farmers reeling from the devastating natural disasters that struck across the United States in 2023 and 2024. The continued financial success of our farming and ranching operations is a national security priority,” said Rollins in a statement.
“USDA is doing whatever it takes to make good on President Trump’s promise to expedite disaster recovery assistance to U.S. farmers and ranchers, ensuring viability, prosperity, and longevity for these men and women who dedicate their entire lives to our nation’s food, fiber and fuel production,” she continued. “The majority of payments from the first stage are already in the hands of producers helping them prepare for and invest in the next crop year.”
