Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is taking a wait and see approach to determining whether additional assistance will be needed this fall to help commodity farmers weather a challenging farm economy.
“I think we keep the options open,” Thune told reporters at Dakotafest in Mitchell, South Dakota, on Wednesday when asked if farmers would need aid this fall since the increased reference prices in the One Big Beautiful Bill would not be available until next year.
Thune said “we’ll see if there’s a demand” for payments similar to those made available to producers by the Agriculture Department in 2018 through the Market Facilitation Program as compensation for losses due to tariffs.
“With the margins our farmers are operating with right now, we’ve got big problems because they’re losing money — and they’re going to have good yields this year, which is great and hopefully that will offset and compensate for some of that,” he said. "But we can’t just continue to lose money on every sale in agriculture. So we’ll see what the fall yields and we’ll decide where to go from there.”
Cut through the clutter! We deliver the news you need to stay informed about farm, food and rural issues. Sign up for a FREE month of Agri-Pulse here.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act enacted in July enhanced the Price Loss Coverage and Agriculture Risk Coverage programs starting with the 2025 crop year but any payments farmers would be eligible for wouldn't go out until October 2026.
When asked about concerns from soybean industry leaders about trade with China, Thune said he’s hoping the Trump administration can make a deal “that will increase our opportunity to export.” Leaders of the American Soybean Association on Tuesday warned Trump in a letter that China does not yet have a single soybean order in for this fall’s harvest.
Thune said Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and other administration leaders are “going to have to step up their game when it comes to trying to keep ag front and center in these trade deals," but added that he believes Trump “deserves the chance to see what kind of deals he can strike."
“I think for the most part, farmers and ranchers here in South Dakota have been patient on that, but we’re going to need to see some results and hopefully soon,” he said.
