Hoeven Pushes $15B Farmer Aid as Stopgap Amid Price Squeeze
Senate ag appropriations chair says emergency help is needed now while Trump administration works to reopen export markets and lower energy costs
Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), chairman of the Senate Ag Appropriations Subcommittee, said U.S. farmers are facing a multi-year income squeeze from persistently high input costs and weak commodity prices, making a proposed at least $15 billion farm aid package a necessary short-term bridge.
In an interview with Fox Business host Stuart Varney, Hoeven blamed elevated fertilizer, energy and other inputs on inflation during the Biden administration, while arguing that inadequate enforcement of trade agreements curtailed export opportunities. He said the Trump administration is now focused on reopening markets and expanding access abroad, but farmers need immediate help while prices recover.
Hoeven said the aid would function as a stopgap until longer-term improvements take effect, including enhancements to farm programs slated to kick in next fall under the “One Big Beautiful Bill” or “Working Families Tax Cut Act.”
He emphasized that energy costs are already easing, citing lower gasoline prices in many states and rising domestic oil production, including in North Dakota, with additional gains expected from enhanced oil recovery technologies.
On timing, Hoeven said farmers could see emergency assistance tied to disasters and other needs within weeks or a few months, likely through a supplemental measure. The goal, he said, is to keep producers afloat until stronger markets and policy changes translate into higher farm incomes.
Tentative highlights of the coming farmer aid proposal:
• More than $15 billion (according to House Ag Chair GT Thompson (R-Pa.)
•$5 billion for specialty crops
•Expanded Farmer Bridge Assistance coverage: Additional funding to cover a larger share of producer losses and speed delivery of assistance.
•Prevent-plant eligibility: Inclusion of prevented-plant acres as eligible under FBA.
• Higher payment limits: Alignment with payment-limit improvements in the One Big Beautiful Bill to better match real-world losses.
•Targeted relief above national averages: Separate assistance for producers forced to sell at depressed prices or facing elevated production costs, allowing base FBA payments to flow immediately.
• Sugar beet and cane assistance: Relief for sugar farmers amid record losses in an oversupplied market.
• Higher loan limits: Increases to Farm Ownership and Operating Loan limits to improve access to capital as costs rise.
