By Ryan Hanrahan
AgWeek’s Noah Fish reported that “the U.S. Department of Agriculture already has obligated more than $6 billion in payments under its new Farmer Bridge Assistance program just days after enrollment opened.”
“The program, intended to help farmers facing tight margins and weak commodity prices for the 2025 crop year, has drawn strong early participation from producers across the Midwest,” Fish reported. “As of March 3, USDA had received more than 277,000 applications and approved about 231,000 of them, according to Richard Fordyce, USDA undersecretary for farm production and conservation.”
“‘It’s really been really successful,’ Fordyce said in a March 4 interview,” according to Fish’s reporting. “‘As of yesterday, we have obligated for payment just a touch over $6 billion.'”
“The $12 billion program was announced in December to provide economic assistance to producers of major farm program crops, including corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton and rice. Payments are meant to offset weak prices and market disruptions tied to export tariffs during the 2025 crop year,” Fish reported. “Early data shows strong participation from the Midwest, and Fordyce said corn and soybean producers currently account for the largest share of applications.”
“‘In the first few days, the Midwest, upper Midwest are the hottest on the heat map right now,’ he said,” according to Fish’s reporting. “That could change somewhat as enrollment continues, he added, because crops with higher per-acre payments, including cotton and rice, are grown in the South.”
Source : illinois.edu