The American Farm Bureau Federation on Wednesday pressed lawmakers to pass a new round of farm assistance, even though it was left out of a fiscal 2026 funding package congressional negotiators released this week.
It's not clear when there will be another legislative vehicle that could carry the agricultural funding.
“Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle have assured us in recent weeks that they recognize more aid is needed to keep our food supply strong, which requires a strong agricultural sector," AFBF President Zippy Duvall said in a statement.
"Many have also voiced strong support for approving year-round E15 fuel, which would be a win-win for consumers and farmers by reducing the price of fuel at the pump while increasing demand for both corn and sorghum.
“The target for months has been to include both priorities in the government funding package. So, it was a shock to see bill text proposed by the House that includes neither. There is still time. Congress must act."
A spokeswoman for the Senate Agriculture Committee, Sara Lasure, said in a statement Wednesday that Chairman John Boozman, R-Ark., "recognizes the serious challenges facing farm country and his priority continues to be delivering the support farmers urgently need.
"While the current funding bill under consideration is no longer an option, he continues to work closely with his colleagues and is urging them to identify alternative paths forward. One potential avenue would be a supplemental funding package."
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House Ag Committee Chairman Glenn “GT” Thompson confirmed on Tuesday he worked with Boozman and John Hoeven, R-N.D., last week on a proposal for additional farm aid to supplement the $12 billion Farmer Bridge Assistance program announced by the Trump administration in December.
Thompson told Agri-Pulse, “I think what they wound up with was a little more than $15 billion.”
“I asked for $5 billion out of that for specialty crops and $200 million for hardwoods,” Thompson said, reflecting on the meeting. “And I'm hearing positive things about it.”
Specialty crop growers account for over one-third of all U.S. crop sales and generate more than $75 billion in annual farm revenue, but operate with far fewer risk-management and safety-net tools than other farmers, leading to a widening cost-to-revenue gap.
The Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance – a national coalition of 150 organizations representing growers of fruits, vegetables, dried fruit, tree nuts, nursery plants and other products – is advocating for “no less than than $5 billion and a third of any relief package,” the group’s co-chair Kam Quarles told Agri-Pulse.
“As Congress works to assemble an agricultural assistance package, it is imperative that the funding floor be no less than $5 billion,” said Cathy Burns, the group’s other co-chair. “Family farms across the United States are facing unprecedented economic challenges, including record-high labor and input costs, lost markets, and unfair competition from foreign producers.”
Of the $12 billion Farmer Bridge Assistance program announced in December, $1 billion is available to specialty crop growers. But Quarles, who also serves as CEO of the National Potato Council, said the funding is also to be shared among sugar growers as well as producers of other commodities who can make their case for the money.
“Specialty crop growers still have no clarity on either the amount of funding available to them or the design and timing of a specialty crop program under USDA’s Farmer Bridge Assistance,” said Cathy Burns, who also serves as CEO of the International Fresh Produce Association. “This uncertainty comes at a time when economic relief is urgently needed.”
Quarles suggested the Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops (MASC) program first announced in December 2024 could be the model for additional assistance.
“Don't reinvent the wheel. Rinse and repeat with the appropriate amount of resources,” added Quarles.
Most specialty crops lack reporting or a futures market like commodity crops, making the process for calculating losses and distributing aid more challenging.
The MASC program provides payments to offset marketing costs involving a number of issues, including specialized handling and transport equipment, protective packaging, and labor costs.
Producers of a wide variety of corps are eligible: fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices, tree nuts, nursery crops, Christmas trees, floriculture, honey, hops, maple sap, tea, turfgrass, and grass seed.
“Given both their economic contribution and the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans’ continued recommendation that Americans increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables, it is only reasonable that specialty crops receive this proportional aid,” Burns said.
This article has been updated with AFBF statement.
