December 15, 2025
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Last week, the USDA announced that it would provide $12 billion in one-time bridge payments to eligible farmers impacted by market disruptions and increased input costs. Although no guidance has yet provided details on the program, the press release provided the following key information.
- $11 billion of the $12 billion will be used for the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program (FBA), which will provide one-time relief payments to farmers growing the following commodities: Barley, Chickpeas, Corn, Cotton, Lentils, Oats, Peanuts, Peas, Rice, Sorghum, Soybeans, Wheat, Canola, Crambe, Flax, Mustard, Rapeseed, Safflower, Sesame, and Sunflower.
- The USDA will make payments available under the FBA by February 28, 2026.
- The FBA will calculate support using a uniform formula to cover a portion of modeled losses during the 2025 crop year. The national loss average is calculated based on FSA reported planted acres, Economic Research Service cost of production estimates, World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates yields and prices and economic modeling.
- Farmers are to make sure their 2025 acreage reporting is factual and accurate by 5 pm ET on December 19, 2025. Commodity-specific payment rates will be released by the end of December. Crop insurance is not required, although USDA strongly recommends it.
- One billion of the $12 billion bridge payments are reserved for commodities not covered in the FBA, such as specialty crops and sugar. No details or timelines are available regarding these payments.
- All payments will be administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA). They are authorized by the Commodity Credit Corporation.
Stay tuned as further details are released. We will keep you updated.