These are complicated and uncertain times to be a farmer.
Days after the Supreme Court struck down the Trump administration's tariffs, the Department of Agriculture was poised to send out $12 billion in aid to the nation's farmers, Reuters reported.
Under the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program, farmers who have planted 19 designated commodity crops will receive $11 billion in one-time payments, distributed on a per-acre basis. A further $1 billion will be paid to farmers who plant certain specialty crops.
"These resources will help carry producers into the next season, truly a bridge, as purchase commitments and new trade deals take effect and input costs continue to decline," Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said, according to Reuters.
To receive aid, farmers must apply with the USDA. Eligible farmers "can expect payments in their bank accounts by Feb. 28," Rollins said in a news release.
The administration's policies, particularly tariffs, have been controversial among farmers. Some have criticized the approach for increasing costs while retaliatory actions taken by other nations have disrupted access to foreign markets.
"Our farmers and ranchers can compete with the world, but they can't compete with the world with a chaotic set of policy circumstances," said Jon Dogget, a former chief executive of the National Corn Growers Association, according to The New York Times.
The USDA payments are not expected to fully compensate farmers for the massive losses they have incurred in recent years, which have been estimated at over $30 billion, Reuters noted.
Rather, the $12 billion in payments are meant as "a bridge until the improvements in the farm bill programs are realized on the farm," John Newton of the American Farm Bureau Federation said, per Reuters.
The challenges facing farmers impact everyday Americans in the form of access to food and rising grocery prices.
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