Ag Policy Blog

OMAHA (DTN) -- USDA on Wednesday released the per-acre payment rates for the $11 billion Farmer Bridge Assistance Program (FBA).

The FBA was announced earlier this month by President Donald Trump. FBA payments will go to farmers based on 2025 planted acres. The formula created for payments was based on the World Agricultural Supply & Demand Estimate (WASDE) report, as well as reports on planted acres. USDA noted that prevented planting acres are not eligible for FBA payments.

For producers of the largest commodity crops, the per-acre payments break down as follows:

-- Corn, $44.36 an acre.

-- Soybeans, $30.88 an acre.

-- Wheat, $39.35 an acre.

-- Cotton, $117.35 an acre.

-- Sorghum, $48.11 an acre.

-- Barley, $20.51 an acre.

-- Rice, $132.89 an acre.

The payment limit will be $155,000 per entity or individual. Unlike other aid programs, USDA will not require "linkage" for crop insurance to receive a payment. USDA, though, also "strongly urges" farmers to use crop insurance and noted certain insurance policies were improved under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

In announcing the payments, USDA blamed the need for aid on "four years of disastrous Biden administration policies that created record-high input and production costs, zero new trade deals, and a forgotten rural America."

Farm income has declined since hitting its peak in 2022 as commodity prices have fallen while input prices have remained high. Export values also have fallen since then, primarily due to China reducing its imports of commodities.

The FBA payments mark the second round of ad-hoc payments farmers will receive in less than a year. Last spring, USDA released $10 billion in aid because of low prices for the 2024-25 crop under the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP) that was funded by an act signed by then-President Joe Biden a year ago.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said farmers should expect the FBA payments in their bank accounts by Feb. 28.

"These one-time payments give farmers the bridge to continue to feed and clothe America and the world while the Trump Administration continues opening new markets and strengthening the farm safety net," Rollins said.

Along with the crops listed, FBA payments will go to producers of chickpeas, lentils, oats, peanuts, peas, canola, crambe, flax, mustard, rapeseed, safflower, sesame and sunflower.

The remaining $1 billion of the $12 billion in FBA payments will be reserved for commodities not covered in the FBA program, such as specialty crops and sugar, for example, though details including timelines for those payments are still under development and require additional understanding of market impacts and economic needs.

Also see "Tariffs, Power and Pressure: How Trade Policy Drove Markets and Politics in 2025" here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

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