The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently made $12 billion available for a Farmer Bridge Assistance Program, and the first deadline for getting signed up for the financial assistance is Friday (Dec. 19, 2025).
USDA Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation Richard Fordyce said the first thing farmers need to do is submit an acreage report.
“Once we have that, and know the formulas that we are going to use. So, we’re going to use production cost models, USDA production cost models. We’re going to use the WASDE. Not completely sure which one, depending on timing, from a price standpoint, and the 2025 planted acres. So, we will be announcing, by crop, the payment rate by crop around December 22.”
Fordyce says the goal of the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program is to help farmers struggling with high input costs, low commodity prices and retaliatory tariffs due to trade disputes.
“I don’t know how many factors would go into what an economic loss would be. Certainly, we know that inputs are high. Margins are slim to negative. Certainly, a lot of things affect that, and I guess we wouldn’t know necessarily what percentage of that is related to which one. There are certainly several of those that contribute, but this is an economic loss program.”
To participate in the program, Fordyce says there are certain requirements.
“There is. We’re going to use the payment limitation levels from the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act, which are $155,000 per person or legal entity. So yes, there will be a cap on what producers can earn. A one-time deal, yes. And then, we also have an eligibility test. The adjusted gross income of $900,000. The entity participating has to certify that they have an adjusted gross income of less than $900,000 to be eligible.”
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