U.S. President Donald Trump is set to announce a $12 billion aid package for American farmers on Monday, according to two White House officials, offering relief to an industry heavily impacted by his trade policies.
Farm groups and Republican farm-state lawmakers have sought the aid in part to support farmers with purchases of seeds, fertilizer and other expenses for next year's growing season. U.S. farmers have been saddled this year with record harvests and lost billions of dollars in soybean sales to China when the nation turned to South American suppliers this fall during stalled trade talks.
Trump will announce the aid at a 2 p.m. (1900 GMT) roundtable at the White House alongside Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and members of Congress, a White House official said. Growers of corn, cotton, sorghum, soybeans, rice, cattle, wheat and potatoes will attend, the official said. Up to $11 billion of the aid is meant for a newly designed Farmer Bridge Assistance program for row crop farmers hurt by trade disputes and higher costs, the official said. The remaining $1 billion is for other crops and specific details are still being determined, the official said.
White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said the aid demonstrates Trump's commitment to farmers.
Farmers have faced higher costs for agricultural inputs like seed and fertilizer, which the Trump administration has said it is examining.
Soybean farmers expect to see their third consecutive year of losses in 2025, according to the American Soybean Association.
Net farm income could fall by more than $30 billion in 2026 due to a decline in government payments and low crop prices, according to an estimate from the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri. Farmers are set to receive a near-record $40 billion in government payments this year, fueled by ad-hoc disaster and economic aid. The administration had been expected to announce a farm bailout totaling as much as $15 billion in October. Rollins previously said the 43-day federal government shutdown delayed the rollout.
During his first term, Trump gave about $23 billion in aid to farmers hurt by his trade policies.
