Tipsheet

President Trump Announces $12B in Farm Subsidies

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  December 08, 2025 2:55 PM

President Trump, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins unveiled today a $12 billion aid package targeting U.S. farmers who have struggled with low crop prices, rising costs, and trade tensions with nations like China.

Here's more from the Associated Press:

The aid is the administration’s latest effort to defend Trump’s economic stewardship and answer voter angst about rising costs — even as the president has dismissed concerns about affordability as a Democratic “hoax.”

Upwards of $11 billion is set aside for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farmer Bridge Assistance program, which the White House says will offer one-time payments to farmers for row crops.

The $11 billion will focus on row-crop farmers (e.g. those who grow corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, and rice), while the remaining $1 billion will focus on other crops like fruit and specialty crops, and livestock farmers.

Amid falling export demand with China and other nations, farmers and Republican legislators are looking to "support farmers with purchases of seeds, fertilizer, and other expenses for next year's growing season," according to Reuters.

The announcement came at a White House Roundtable event today.

At the Roundtable today, President Trump blamed Democrats for the affordability crisis and inflation. Members of the farming community joined him, Secretary Rollins and Secretary Bessent.

"We inherited a total mess from the Biden administration," the President said. "The highest inflation in the country's history, and very, very high prices. And prices are coming down."

The President also said this aid package will help farmers "continue their efforts to lower food prices for American families."

Secretary Brook Rollins pointed out the Biden administration's skewed priorities, too. "We have fought to bring input costs down," Rollins said. "Having said that, and we have been listening to the farmers...the bridge that is needed to get from the last administration...to this new golden age for farmers...that this bridge is absolutely necessary based on where we are right now."

The funding will be moved by February 28, 2026, and by the end of December, farmers will know what their funding looks like, Rollins added.

Secretary Bessent told the Roundtable, "This group represents an American way of life that has fed our nation and its spirit for hundreds of years." He said the Trump administration is focused on ushering in that golden age for farmers. "This serves as a liquidity bridge during a period of adjustment," Bessent added.

Bessent also announced that Chinese President Xi is reopening China to American exports like soybeans and sorghum. "Under this framework, China committed to purchase at least 12 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans this growing season, followed by a minimum of 25 million tons annually," Bessent said.