Trump Announces $12B Farm Bailout

President Trump announced a $12 billion bailout for US farmers on Monday, aiming to soften the blow from his own tariffs and a tough year in agriculture. The relief includes $11 billion in direct payments through the Farmer Bridge Assistance program, with another $1 billion set aside for other commodities, the Wall Street Journal reports. Soybean farmers, hit hardest by collapsing prices and the loss of China as a top customer, are expected to benefit the most. Trump announced the aid plan at a White House roundtable Monday, saying it would be funded by tariff revenue, the AP reports.

Farm bankruptcies are up 60% this year, with the cost of goods including fertilizer rising and crop prices low after a record harvest. The aid, set to roll out at the end of February, drew praise from major farm groups. The American Soybean Association lamented 2025's combination of bad prices, high costs, and lost markets. At Monday's event, Trump and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins pointed fingers at foreign-owned agribusinesses for driving up costs.

Soybean exports to China, which once bought nearly a quarter of all US beans, dropped to zero after Trump's tariffs, though purchases resumed after a deal at the end of October. In 2018, during Trump's first term, he announced $12 billion in aid to farmers during a trade dispute with China. The total compensation for lost farm business due to tariffs during his first term was around $23 billion, the Journal reports.

As in 2018, farmers say they appreciate the help but would rather make money from selling crops than government payments, the AP reports. "I think we need to be looking for some avenues to find other funding opportunities and we need to get our markets going. That's where we want to be able to make a living from," says Kentucky farmer Caleb Ragland, president of the American Soybean Association. Asked Monday if there would be more aid packages, Trump said it would depend on market conditions, the BBC reports. "The farmers don't want aid," he said. "They want to have a level playing field."