Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Dan Newhouse (4th District of Washington)
Headline: Newhouse Statement on USDA Relief Payments
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Dan Newhouse (WA-04) released the following statement on the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) announcement of financial relief to farmers impacted by market disruptions.
“Farmers across the United States, including in Central Washington, are reaching a breaking point because of supply chain issues, high input costs, and uncertainty around foreign market access. While this announcement primarily benefits row crop producers, other specialty crop growers will need additional assistance as they struggle to make ends meet due to continued high labor costs,” said Rep. Newhouse.
Newhouse added, “I appreciate President Trump and Secretary Rollins for rolling out a bridge to get farmers and ranchers through lean times. I know they understand, as I do, that producers would prefer market certainty over direct payments from the federal government. I look forward to continuing working with this Administration to lower labor costs, reduce regulatory burdens, implement the agriculture provisions of the Working Families Tax Cut, and ensure American farmers and ranchers have the tools they need to make it to the next growing season.”
According to USDA, $12 billion will be made available for one time bridge payments to American farmers in response to temporary trade market disruptions and increased production costs impacting farmers.
Of the $12 billion provided, up to $11 billion will be used for the Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) Program, which provides broad relief to U.S. row crop farmers who produce barley, chickpeas, corn, cotton, lentils, oats, peanuts, peas, rice, sorghum, soybeans, wheat, canola, crambe, flax, mustard, rapeseed, safflower, sesame, and sunflower.
The remaining $1 billion in bridge payments will be reserved for commodities not covered in the FBA Program such as specialty crops and sugar, for example, though details including timelines for those payments are still under development by USDA.
USDA said farmers who qualify for the FBA Program can expect payments to be released by February 28, 2026.
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