Farm Aid as a Stopgap: Inside USDA’s $11 Billion Farmer Bridge Assistance Program
American Farm Bureau analysis says the one-time payments will ease 2025 losses but fall short of repairing years of weak farm margins
The Trump administration has unveiled a $12 billion one-time economic assistance package aimed at stabilizing the farm economy ahead of the 2026 planting season, with the bulk of the funding flowing through the new Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) Program. According to an analysis (link) by Faith Parum, Ph.D., economist at the American Farm Bureau Federation, the aid provides timely cash-flow relief but does not fully offset the financial damage farmers have absorbed over multiple years of low commodity prices and elevated costs.
Of the total package, $11 billion is dedicated to row-crop producers through FBA, while the remaining $1 billion is reserved for specialty crops and sugar. USDA has yet to release details on how that smaller tranche will be distributed, noting that additional data collection and analysis are still underway.
Designed as a “bridge,” not a full fix
Farm Bureau economists stress that the FBA program is explicitly structured as a temporary bridge until longer-term farm-bill-related changes under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) begin taking effect in fiscal year 2026. Even after crop insurance indemnities and prior ad-hoc assistance, the sector continues to post multibillion-dollar losses annually, reflecting the prolonged squeeze from weak prices and stubbornly high input costs.
How payments are calculated
USDA modeled projected losses for the 2025 crop year and applied a flat, national per-acre payment rate for planted acres of covered commodities. Prevented-plant acres are excluded. The loss estimates draw on FSA acreage data, USDA cost-of-production figures, WASDE yield and price forecasts, and economic modeling assumptions. Final per-acre rates vary widely by crop, with higher payments for commodities facing deeper projected losses, such as rice and cotton, and lower rates for corn, wheat and soybeans, where losses are smaller but still negative.
Where the money goes
Based on 2025 acreage, total FBA payments are estimated at roughly $10.8 billion. Corn accounts for the largest share, followed by soybeans and wheat, reflecting sheer acreage despite lower per-acre rates. At the state level, payments are projected to be highest in Texas, Iowa, Kansas and Illinois. Midwest and Corn Belt states together are expected to receive nearly two-thirds of total funding, while Southern and Southeast states capture about one-quarter.
There is an excellent Farm Bureau graphic (below) that helps explain why rice, cotton and other payment rates are higher than corn, wheat and soybeans:
Eligibility and limits
Participation in FBA is subject to an adjusted gross income cap of $900,000, and payments are limited to $155,000 per person or legal entity — separate from caps in other USDA programs. Producers who filed timely acreage reports with FSA will receive pre-filled applications that must be reviewed and returned to local offices to trigger payment.
Bottom Line: As the American Farm Bureau Federation’s analysis makes clear, the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program offers meaningful short-term relief and planning certainty heading into 2026, but it remains a partial solution — one that underscores how far the farm economy still has to climb out of a multi-year downturn.
