Farm Aid to Come After Election

WASHINGTON (DTN) -- Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced late Monday that USDA will make $8 billion in payments to farmers through a Harvest Fuel Relief Program.

Rollins made the announcement after President Trump campaigned in Wichita, Kan., for Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., who is in a re-election race that The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter ranks as a toss-up.

The money will come from the Commodity Credit Corporation, USDA's line of credit at the Treasury Department to provide aid to farmers, but payments will not be issued before the election. It's unclear how much of a dent the payments would make in the rising cost of fuel or whether it will affect farmers' votes.

The Associated Press reported ahead of Trump's trip that the high cost of fuel is causing concern among Republicans in farm states. The AP said the price of diesel in Kansas was $2.50 more per gallon than a year ago. In Iowa, which also has a toss-up Senate race, diesel prices increased three cents last week to a statewide average of $6.07 per gallon. That compares with $3.45 per gallon a year ago. Iowa's current diesel average is 23 cents below the national average of $6.30, Western Iowa Today reported on Sunday.

The Republican-leaning American Farm Bureau Federation has repeatedly released analyses about the stress of high fuel prices on farmers.

"President Trump is the most pro-farmer president of my lifetime, and he is continuing to put farmers first every day," Rollins said. "Today, I am proud to announce alongside President Trump more targeted relief is coming to our farmers through the Harvest Fuel Relief program. This $8 billion investment will help bring certainty to our farmers during this harvest so they can continue to feed our nation."

USDA explained in a news release, "Similar to the Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) program, the Harvest Fuel Relief (HFR) program will provide simple, proportional support to producers using a uniform formula to cover a portion of modeled losses during the 2026 crop year. This national loss average will be based on FSA (Farm Service Agency) reported planted acres, Economic Research Service cost of production estimates, and World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates yields and prices.

USDA said FSA will administer the program.

"Commodity-specific payment rates for Title I commodities will be released in November. Payment methodology for other eligible commodities will be announced at a later date. Crop insurance linkage will not be required for participation in the Harvest Fuel Relief program; however, USDA strongly urges producers to take advantage of the enhanced risk management tools included in the Working Families Tax Cuts Act to best protect against price risk and volatility in the future.

"Producers of non-Title I commodities, including specialty crop growers and fishermen, are encouraged to provide data related to increased fuel costs to HarvestFuel@usda.gov for USDA's consideration when determining payment rates.

"Eligible producers are encouraged to create a Login.gov account in advance of the application period announcement. Pre-filled applications will be available online to producers with a Login.gov account linked to USDA."

USDA noted that the "Farmer Bridge Assistance program delivered $12 billion in one-time bridge payments over 560,000 farmers across the country. Just two weeks ago, nearly $14 billion in gross payments were provided to producers through the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs through the Working Families Tax Cuts Act -- an approximate $8 billion increase over what farmers would have received without the historic bill."

The Working Class Tax Cuts Act is the name that Republicans now prefer for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

The White House also issued a news release listing programs it said benefited Kansans. The press release did not mention the fuel program.

See "ARC/PLC Payments Help Offset Diesel Costs, But Relief Varies by State," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Rural Communities Fact Sheet from the White House: https://www.whitehouse.gov/…

Jerry Hagstrom can be reached at jhagstrom@nationaljournal.com

Follow him on social platform X @hagstromreport

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