In a major policy announcement expected to ripple across the agricultural economy, President Donald Trump is preparing to unveil a $12 billion farm aid package designed to support American farmers battered by low crop prices, mounting inflation, and ongoing US-China trade disputes. The administration says the plan will serve as a “bridge” to help family farms stay afloat until markets stabilize.
The announcement is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. EST at the White House, where Trump will be joined by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, members of Congress, and a cross-section of American farmers—from corn and cotton growers to soybean, sorghum, wheat, rice, and cattle producers.
A Lifeline for America’s Hard-Hit Producers
According to White House officials, $11 billion of the package will be allocated as one-time payments through the USDA’s Farmer Bridge Assistance Program, focused on major row crops. The remaining $1 billion will support specialty crops not previously covered.
While Trump continues to receive broad support in rural America, the second term has been marked by sharp market disruptions. Nowhere has this been more evident than in the soybean and sorghum sectors, which depend heavily on exports to China—still the largest buyer of US soybeans.
Farmers say they welcome the assistance, even if it’s not a long-term fix.
“The aid will help our bottom line,” said Mark Legan, a livestock, corn, and soybean farmer in Putnam County, Indiana. “As crop prices fall and profitability plunges, we’ve had to delay equipment upgrades. This gives us some breathing room.”
Legan noted that despite past relief packages during Trump’s first term—$22 billion in 2019 and $46 billion in 2020, which also encompassed COVID-related disruptions—producers continue to face stubbornly high operating costs. Prices for fertilizer, seeds, diesel, and crop protection chemicals remain near historic highs.
“The real issue is that production costs haven’t come down,” he added. “And export markets still haven’t fully recovered to where they were years ago.”
Trade Tensions and China’s Slow Purchases
The new farm aid package comes on the heels of an October meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea, where China pledged to buy 12 million tonnes of US soybeans by the end of 2025, followed by 25 million tonnes annually for the next three years.
So far, China has purchased only about one-quarter of the promised amount, though recent activity suggests purchases are accelerating. Treasury Secretary Bessent told CBS, the BBC’s US partner, that China is “likely on track” to meet the target by late February.
Bessent did not downplay the role trade tensions have played in farmers’ financial stress.
“The Chinese actually used our soybean farmers as pawns in the negotiations,” he said. “This package creates a bridge to ensure farmers can plan for next year—because agriculture is always about the future.”
The administration says the aid will help farmers market this year’s harvest, secure financing, and begin planning for the 2026 planting season.
Political Stakes: Rising Costs and Rural Concerns
The announcement comes at a politically sensitive moment. Polls show Americans increasingly worried about rising food prices, inflation, and the cost of essential goods—issues Trump has periodically dismissed as a “hoax” or a “con job” orchestrated by political opponents.
Yet rural Americans, especially farmers, feel the squeeze directly. The combination of low prices for corn, soybeans, and wheat and high input costs has created a profitability crisis for midsize producers.
This aid package attempts to steady the ship, but many analysts say it also highlights the mounting pressure on the administration to deliver meaningful, lasting trade results—especially regarding China, whose vast market is crucial for US agriculture.
A Broader Push for Food Supply Chain Security
On Saturday, Trump signed an executive order creating new food supply chain security task forces. The order directs federal agencies to examine potential vulnerabilities and investigate “anti-competitive behavior” within the agricultural sector, a topic that has drawn increased attention in recent years as corporate consolidation reshapes everything from meatpacking to seed production.
The task forces are expected to assess:
Market concentration in key segments
Foreign influence in US food supply chains
Transportation and logistics choke points
Resilience of rural infrastructure
The administration says the goal is to ensure the long-term stability of the US food system—a priority reinforced by pandemic-era disruptions and current geopolitical tensions.
What Farmers Can Expect Next
For many farmers, the $12 billion farm bailout provides short-term reassurance while deep uncertainties remain—especially regarding export volumes, pricing trends, and international negotiations.
Industry groups say the assistance will help keep rural communities stable during a challenging season marked by:
Depressed commodity prices
Volatile global demand
High interest rates
Increasing competition from Brazil and Argentina
Whether the new package will be enough to offset these pressures is unclear, but producers say any support is welcome as they prepare for 2026.