Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI:The US Department of Agriculture released details on December 31 about how much row crop farmers will receive next year from a $12 billion aid program. The Farmer Bridge Assistance programme is expected to distribute $11 billion in one-time payments to farmers, who will be paid on a per-acre rate if they planted one of the 19 commodity crops identified as being eligible for the program, USDA said in a statement, according to a Reuters report.
The highest per-acre payments will be paid to rice farmers, who could receive $132.89 an acre; cotton farmers, at $117.35 an acre; and oat farmers, at $81.75 an acre. Farmers are eligible for a payment of $44.36 per corn acre, $30.88 per soybean acre and $39.35 per wheat acre. The payments are calculated using 2025 planted acres, cost-of-production data, and market conditions, USDA said.
Welcome step
Sorghum growers are set to receive more than soybean growers at $48.11 per acre, and see the payments as a welcome help even as export demand has improved recently. However, soybean growers say such payments fall short of helping those hurt by low crop prices and trade disputes. Other crops that qualify include peanuts, barley, canola, sunflower, lentils, peas, mustard, safflower, flax, large and small chickpeas, and sesame.
The payments are expected to be received by February 28, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a statement.
Specialty crop
US President Donald Trump initially unveiled the $12 billion aid package for American farmers on December 8, as farm groups and Republican farmstate lawmakers have sought the aid in part to support farmers with purchases of seeds, fertilizer and other expenses.
The remaining $1 billion of the $12 billion aid package is being reserved for specialty crop and sugar farmers, USDA said, but how that money will be distributed, and the timing of such payments, is still being determined.