USDA Announces More Than $15 Billion in Farm Aid in Weeks Before Midterms

The Trump administration has announced more than $15 billion in payments, loans and other support for American farmers over the past two weeks, with the midterm elections set for Tuesday, Nov. 3.

The centerpiece is the Harvest Fuel Relief program, an $8 billion one-time payment. President Trump announced it at a Kansas rally on Monday, Oct. 19. USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins issued a statement the same day.

What is in the package

Beyond the $8 billion, the USDA has announced:

• At least $5 billion in guaranteed loans for ranchers and fishermen
• $1.8 billion for producers and landowners enrolled in conservation programs
• $573 million for fertilizer manufacturing projects
• $57 million to expand meat processing capacity
• $86.6 million in grants for specialty crop producers
• Up to $472.5 million in agricultural commodity purchases, announced Thursday, Oct. 29, to support producers and supply charitable programs

That is separate from $13.8 billion in safety net payments planned for eligible producers for the 2025 crop year. The USDA also plans to expand sales of off-road diesel, make cattle sale data more transparent and tighten wolf management policies to protect livestock. Earlier this month Trump signed an executive order easing limits on tax-free use of red-dyed diesel.

How the $8 billion works

The USDA says the program will use a uniform formula to cover a portion of modeled losses for the 2026 crop year. The formula draws on planted acreage reported to the Farm Service Agency, Economic Research Service production-cost estimates, and yield and price projections from the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report.

So payments are not tied to what any individual farmer actually spent on diesel. Crop insurance is not required to participate.

The money comes from the Commodity Credit Corporation and will be administered by the Farm Service Agency. Payment rates for major commodities are due in November. Methodology for other crops comes later. The USDA has not given a date for when checks will go out.

Farmers can prepare by creating a Login.gov account linked to USDA, which will allow pre-filled applications.

The cost squeeze

The numbers behind the request are real. AAA data show diesel hit a record $6.53 a gallon on Sept. 22. It averaged $6.32 as of Oct. 20, against $3.62 a year earlier.

Fertilizer prices have also jumped. The war with Iran has disrupted roughly one-third of the world's fertilizer supply that normally moves through the Strait of Hormuz.

A September USDA forecast projects net farm income down 2.6% this year as production costs rise 4.5%. Fuel and oil expenses alone are expected to climb nearly 30%.

Gregg Ibendahl, a farm management specialist at Kansas State University, estimates the payments will "more than cover the increase in fuel costs" and could help with fertilizer too.

The repeat-bailout question

This is the second one-time USDA payment to farmers in about 11 months. In December the administration announced a $12 billion Farmer Bridge Assistance package, which the USDA says reached more than 560,000 farmers. That aid targeted losses from trade disputes and lost export demand after Trump's tariffs. The USDA also says nearly $14 billion in ARC and PLC payments went out two weeks before the Oct. 19 announcement, roughly $8 billion more than farmers would have received without the Working Families Tax Cuts Act.

Gbenga Ajilore, chief economist at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and a former USDA rural development adviser, argues the pattern is the problem. "The president's economic aid to farmers ahead of the midterm elections follows a pattern dating back to his first term: He imposes policies that harm farmers, then spends taxpayer money to offset the damage his policies create," he said in an email. In his view, ending the Iran war and the tariffs would do more for farmers than aid.

The administration frames it differently. Rollins says Trump is "the most pro-farmer president of my lifetime" and that the money brings "certainty to our farmers during this harvest." The USDA describes the payments as relief during temporary market disruptions.

Farmers themselves are split. Many welcome help that keeps their operations afloat. Some see the programs as one-time bailouts, not a long-term fix.

The political backdrop

The timing overlaps with tight races in farm country. Current polling projects close Senate contests, or Democratic wins, in states Trump carried easily in the last three presidential elections, including Iowa, Kansas, Ohio and Texas.

In Kansas, Sen. Roger Marshall faces Democrat Adam Hamilton in a race rated too close to call. The state has not elected a Democratic senator since 1932. Trump credited Marshall at the rally with helping secure the aid. He also promised, "When Republicans win, we will pass even more funding for our farmers."

Trump is scheduled to visit Iowa and Kansas today, Nov. 1. Whether the aid moves rural turnout is unclear.

What comes next

The USDA has said it will release more details this month. The first hard numbers, per-acre payment rates for major commodity crops, will not appear until after voters have cast their ballots on Tuesday.