President Donald Trump is predicted to announce a $12 billion farm aid package at a roundtable on Monday, a White House official informed NCS.
Most of the aid — $11 billion — shall be directed towards crop farmers via one-time funds beneath the Farmer Bridge Assistance program, in accordance to the official. The relaxation will go to farmers whose crops fall exterior the umbrella of the help program.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins will attend the roundtable, which is scheduled for two p.m. ET at the White House. Corn, cotton, sorghum, soybean, rice, cattle, wheat and potato farmers may also attend.
The farm aid announcement particulars have been first reported by Bloomberg, however Rollins hinted at the bridge funds at a Cabinet assembly final week.
Rollins steered that it was not the impression of the Trump administration’s tariffs, however quite Biden administration insurance policies, which have triggered farmers to want help. She credited Trump for opening the markets via commerce offers with out immediately acknowledging how tariffs have impacted farmers.
“What you’ve been able to do is open those markets up and again, move toward an era where our farmers are not so reliant on government checks, but have the markets to sell their product. Having said that, we do have a bridge payment we’ll be announcing with you next week, as we’re still trying to recover from the Biden years,” Rollins stated.
“For so long, our farmers, many of them, have been farming for government checks instead of moving their product around the world. These trade deals change that forever,” Rollins stated.
Some farmers have beforehand balked at the concept of aid. Mark Read, District 5 director for the Illinois Soybean Association, beforehand told NCS, “Farmers don’t want free aid. We want free trade.” This was earlier than China agreed to once more buy soybeans from US farmers after turning to Brazil and Argentina amid a commerce struggle.
In late September, Rollins stated the farm economic system, and particularly row croppers, was dealing with “a significant challenge right now,” calling the impression of Trump’s tariffs a “time of uncertainty.”
“The president’s commitment of a ‘golden age’ for rural America, for our American farmers and workers, is just around the corner, but he has been very clear … that there could be a time of uncertainty, especially for our farmers and ranchers, and it’s clear we’re in that time of uncertainty now,” Rollins stated at the time.