Two key Republicans released the framework of a proposal to provide additional financial assistance to farmers, including specialty growers and sugar producers, to augment the $12 billion Farmer Bridge Assistance program announced by the Trump administration in December.
The amount of additional money that would be provided wasn't specified, but Senate Ag Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark., and Senate Ag Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman John Hoeven, R-N.D., discussed a $15 billion package earlier this week in a meeting with House Ag Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson, R-Pa., according to a source familiar with the matter.
The additional funding would provide “expanded coverage” for the Farmer Bridge Assistance program, according to a press release. The money “would cover a greater share of producer losses, allowing farmers to receive bankable and timely assistance,” including prevent-plant acreage.
The proposal also would raise payment limits in line with changes made by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The proposed expansion of the bridge assistance program would align payment limitations with changes included in the One Big Beautiful Bill “to ensure assistance better covers the level of losses farmers are experiencing,” the press release said.
For specialty crop growers, the proposal would provide USDA the “funding and flexibility to implement a program that addresses the unique challenges of specialty crops.”
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“This assistance is all about getting our farmers through this year to fall when the improvements we were able to secure in the One Big Beautiful Bill, including expanding access to affordable crop insurance, increased reference prices, and improved livestock disaster programs, come into play,” Hoeven said in the press release.
“This is the additional piece we need, along with the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program recently announced by President Trump and Secretary Rollins.”
The proposal also would raise USDA-backed farm operating and ownership loans, an issue that normally would be addressed in a farm bill.
Congress hasn't passed a comprehensive, five-year farm bill since 2018 amid partisan fighting.
Thompson told Agri-Pulse Newsmakers he would like to see forestry in an additional aid package, although it was not referenced in the release from Boozman and Hoeven.
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