Bridge assistance payment rates set

WASHINGTON — Per-acre payment specifics for the $12 billion Farmer Bridge Assistance Program were released on New Year’s Eve.

Farmers who qualify for the FBA Program can expect payments in their bank accounts by Feb. 28, according to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.

The one-time per-acre payment rates for the FBA eligible commodities that trigger a payment are as follows:

• Barley: $20.51

• Canola: $23.57

• Chickpeas — Large: $26.46

• Chickpeas — Small: $33.36

• Corn: $44.36

• Cotton: $117.35

• Flax: $8.05

• Lentils: $23.98

• Mustard: $23.21

• Oats: $81.75

• Peanuts: $55.65

• Peas: $19.60

• Rice: $132.89

• Safflower: $24.86

• Sesame: $13.68

• Sorghum: $48.11

• Soybeans: $30.88

• Sunflower: $17.32

• Wheat: $39.35

Eligibility

FBA payments are based on 2025 planted acres, Economic Research Service cost of production and the World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimate Report.

Double-crop acres, including all initial and subsequently planted crops, are eligible. Prevent-plant acres are not eligible.

All intended row crop uses are eligible for FBA except grazing, volunteer stands, experimental, green manure, crops left standing and abandoned, or cover crops.

Crop insurance linkage is not required. However, the U.S. Department of Agriculture strongly urges producers to take advantage of the new risk management tools provided for in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to best protect against future price risk and volatility.

The budget reconciliation bill’s federal crop insurance improvements include expanding benefits for beginning farmers and ranchers, increasing coverage options and making crop insurance more affordable.

Illinois, Indiana

Based on the USDA’s most recent crop production report and small grains summary, here are the statewide totals Illinois and Indiana farmers will receive for their planted acres:

• Illinois — corn, $440.72 million; soybeans, $316.52 million; and wheat, $30.693 million.

• Indiana — corn, $239.544 million; soybeans, $168.296 million; and wheat, $12.592 million.

Specialty Crop Assistance

Of the $12 billion being provided by the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act, up to $11 billion is being directed to eligible row crop producers and the remaining $1 billion in assistance is reserved for specialty crops and sugar.

Timelines for payments to producers of these speciality crops are still under development and require additional understanding of market impacts and economic needs.

Producers, including specialty crop producers and stakeholder groups, can submit questions to farmerbridge@usda.gov.

More information about FBA is available online at www.fsa.usda.gov/fba or you can contact your local USDA Farm Service Agency county office.

“These one-time payments give farmers the bridge to continue to feed and clothe America and the world while the Trump administration continues opening new markets and strengthening the farm safety net. USDA is making this process as simple and seamless as possible so producers can focus on what they do best — feeding and fueling our nation,” Rollins said.

“President Trump committed to increase certainty in the farm economy, and farmers can count on these payment rate calculations when going to the bank as they plan for the spring planting season. Putting ‘Farmers First’ means delivering real relief when it matters.”

Previous Payments

Similar direct payments were issued by the FSA in 2025 to agricultural producers of eligible commodities for the 2024 crop year through the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program.

Congress authorized $10 billion in payments for that program through the American Relief Act approved in late 2024.

Those one-time economic assistance payments were aimed at helping producers mitigate the impacts of increased costs and falling commodity prices.

Per-acre payments in that program included corn, $42.91; wheat, $30.69; and soybeans, $29.76.

Reaction

“We are appreciative of Secretary Rollins and the USDA for creating the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program, which begins to assist growers facing economic pain and hardships,” said Jed Bower, National Corn Growers Association president.

“Corn growers have been sounding the alarm about the fact that farmers have been faced with multiple consecutive years of low corn prices and high input costs.

“While this financial assistance is helpful and welcomed, we urgently need the administration and Congress to develop markets in the U.S. and abroad that will provide growers with more long-term economic certainty.”

“We appreciate the administration’s attention to the challenges farmers continue to face in today’s market,” said American Soybean Association President Caleb Ragland.

“We believe the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program is a positive first step to restore certainty as soybean farmers market this year’s crop and plan for the 2026 planting season. We look forward to working with Congress and the administration on broader support for the farm economy, including long-term, market-driven solutions that strengthen demand for U.S. soy and allow farmers to compete and thrive in the global market.”