More than 55 agriculture organizations, led by the American Farm Bureau Federation, have asked Congress to provide additional assistance to farmers as rural communities face increasing financial pressure. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) and Agriculture Appropriations Committee Chairman John Hoeven (R-ND) are advocating for expanded aid in the next funding bill.
“America’s farmers are resilient, hardworking and deeply committed to feeding and clothing our nation. Unfortunately, resilience and hard work are not enough to withstand the significant challenges that have been mounting for several years. The message is clear that while they are extremely grateful for the investments Congress, President Trump and Secretary Brooke Rollins recently delivered, they need more help to keep farming,” Boozman said. “We need to maintain a safe, affordable and reliable food supply and the only way to achieve that is to support the men and women who make that possible.”
“This assistance is all about getting our farmers through this year to fall when the improvements we were able to secure in the One Big Beautiful Bill, including expanding access to affordable crop insurance, increased reference prices, and improved livestock disaster programs, come into play. This is the additional piece we need, along with the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program recently announced by President Trump and Secretary Rollins,” said Hoeven.“This assistance will provide additional support for row crops, specialty crops, sugar beets, prevent plant, and better account for basis and cost of production concerns. We also increase farm ownership and operating loan limits so producers can access capital to help with higher costs. Our goal is to ensure that farmers and ranchers can make it through this challenging period and continue their operations now and into the future.”
The senators’ proposal aims to offer targeted relief by building on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) program.
Key elements of their plan include expanding FBA coverage so more producer losses are covered; including prevented planting acres as eligible under FBA; aligning payment limitations with provisions from recent legislation; offering extra aid for losses above national averages; providing additional support for specialty crop producers; giving relief for sugar beet and cane growers; and raising farm ownership and operating loan limits.
The Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee has managed agricultural policy since its establishment in 1825 as part of its role among standing committees in the United States Senate (official website). The committee oversees policies affecting agricultural production—including crop insurance—and rural development nationwide (official website). It shapes legislation related to agriculture through hearings, legislative reviews (official website), oversight studies on food security issues (official website), as well as supporting research initiatives dating back more than a century (official website).
A chart accompanying the proposal shows farmer losses since 2023 as evidence of ongoing need for further federal support.
