The deadline is fast approaching for farmers to qualify for USDA’s Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) Program.
“So, the first component of this is making sure that folks who have not submitted an acreage report get that done. That’s when we’re locking down acreage reporting at 5 p.m. on Friday, December 19,” says Richard Fordyce, USDA Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation.
“Once we have that, and know the formulas that we are going to use. So, we’re going to use production cost models, USDA production cost models. We’re going to use the WASDE. Not completely sure which one, depending on timing, from a price standpoint, and the 2025 planted acres. So, we will be announcing, by crop, the payment rate by crop around Monday, December 22,” he says.
On December 8, President Trump announced that $12 billion in financial assistance would be available to America’s farmers. The goal is to help farmers struggling with high input costs, low commodity prices, and retaliatory tariffs due to trade disputes.
“I don’t know how many factors would go into what an economic loss would be. Certainly, we know that inputs are high. Margins are slim to negative. Certainly, a lot of things affect that, and I guess we wouldn’t know necessarily what percentage of that is related to which one. There are certainly several of those that contribute, but this is an economic loss program,” he says.
Fordyce adds that farmers must meet certain requirements to participate in the program.
“We’re going to use the payment limitation levels from the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, which are $155,000 per person or legal entity. So yes, there will be a cap on what producers can earn. A one-time deal, yes. And then, we also have an eligibility test. The adjusted gross income of $900,000. The entity participating has to certify that they have an adjusted gross income of less than $900,000 to be eligible,” according to Fordyce.
Farmers who qualify for the FBA Program can expect payments to be released by February 28, 2026.
The $12 billion in farmer bridge payments are authorized under the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Charter Act and will be administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA).
To submit questions, justification for USDA farmer bridge aid, or to request a meeting on farmer bridge aid, producers can reach out to farmerbridge@usda.gov.
CLICK HERE for more information about the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program.
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Sources: USDA, NAFB News Service
