During a Dec. 2 cabinet meeting, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins indicated that a financial assistance package for farmers could be coming soon. Left unsaid is exactly what that package would look like. However, according to the secretary, those details should be released soon.
In speaking with President Donald Trump during the meeting, Rollins said, “We do have a bridge payment we will be announcing with you next week as we’re still trying to recover from the Biden years.”
The aid package has been dubbed a “bridge payment” because it is intended to help farmers offset losses this crop year before new programs in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act go into effect in 2026.
During her remarks, Rollins went out of her way to blame Biden administration policies for many of the ag economy’s woes. She noted that inflation has skyrocketed over the past five years. However, key economic indicators show that Trump’s tariff policies are at least partly to blame.
This is particularly true for the soybean sector. China, traditionally the largest international customer for U.S. soybeans, had not made any soybean purchases until the Trump administration agreed to significantly lower tariffs. In turn, China is expected to buy about 25 million metric tons of soybeans in 2026.
Why bridge payments now?
In late September, the Trump administration was reportedly poised to announce a $12 billion financial aid package for farmers. The administration subsequently put those plans on hold, citing the government shutdown.
According to Rollins, new trade deals, including the resumption of some soybean exports to China, could change the manner in which the administration crafts an aid package.
“We have always said it is to solve or to mitigate anything under these new trade negotiations,” Rollins said during a Nov. 24 CNBC interview. “Every day that changes.”
While the administration has released multiple assistance programs in 2025, many farmers continue to struggle with various economic factors, including higher costs, trade uncertainty and low commodity prices.
What’s the ballpark figure?
So how much aid can farmers expect? The plan for the aid package is expected to be similar to how the first Trump administration responded to farmer losses caused by tariffs.
In 2018, USDA provided farmers more than $23 billion in assistance following major losses during a tariff-induced trade dispute with China.
Before 2025’s shutdown, reports indicated the Trump administration planned to release about $12 billion in aid to offset the impact of tariffs on the farm economy. This would come in addition to the multiple financial assistance programs already announced this year.
However, John Newton, vice president of public policy and economic analysis at the American Farm Bureau Federation, in November said U.S. farmers are still left with accumulated losses of more than $50 billion over the past three crop years.
“Economic aid is urgently needed in the countryside, as most farmers will begin planting their next crop early in 2026, with some crops already planted, and must have their financial commitments in place as they secure lines of credit,” Newton said. “Many lenders will not count federal support on a balance sheet until it is certain, heightening the urgency, especially given that $12 billion is only a portion of the economic losses farmers have already accumulated.”