Rollins: Set to Roll Out Farmer Relief Plan in Early December
USDA Secretary Rollins tells Bloomberg delayed aid package is nearing completion as farm communities reel from years of trade losses and shrinking safety nets
The Trump administration plans to unveil its long-anticipated farmer relief package in the first week of December, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins told Bloomberg in an interview Wednesday.
Rollins said the shutdown had slowed progress on the aid effort, which officials had been hinting at for more than a month. With government funding restored, the administration “has been able to really analyze” the needs of producers and finalize the formulas for assistance, she said.
Rollins did not offer specifics on the package but said the timing reflects the dramatically altered farm economy: “We’re obviously in a different place today than we were a couple of months ago.”
Farm communities — central to President Trump’s political coalition — have been hit particularly hard during his second term. Some export markets have dried up, federal safety-net programs have contracted, and tariff battles with nearly all major trading partners have compounded the strain. China’s previous cutoff of U.S. soybean purchases delivered one of the deepest shocks.
A recent trade truce between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping has jump-started some soy trade, with Beijing booking at least around 20 additional cargoes and lifting total purchases this season to more than 2 million tons — getting China to begin purchases reportedly discussed in last month’s negotiations.
Still, Rollins said the recovery remains incomplete and relief remains justified. “The row crop industry especially has just gone through some tough times over the last number of years,” she said. “The president committed to ensuring that — I don’t know that we’ll be able to make them whole, but at least some relief as they’re looking to figure out their planting for next year.”
