By Karl Plume and P.J. Huffstutter
ARLINGTON, Virginia/CHICAGO, Feb 20 (Reuters) – As the U.S. Department of Agriculture prepares to dole out $12 billion in government subsidies next week, officials and economists at the agency’s annual forum near Washington defended the assistance as a necessary measure to prevent more farmers from financial ruin.
The two-day meeting this week in Arlington, Virginia, focused on a challenging farm economy that could see further headwinds after the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday struck down Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs that he pursued under a law meant for use in national emergencies. The ruling handed a stinging defeat to the Republican president, with major implications for the global economy and potential ripple effects on the U.S. farm sector.
WHAT USDA IS DOING
* The Farmer Bridge Assistance program is expected todistribute $11 billion in one-time payments to farmers. It’s aper-acre rate for those who planted one of the 19 commoditycrops identified as being eligible for the program. Another $1billion is slated for specialty crop producers. * USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said Friday that the agencywill open the application process ahead of schedule on Monday. * In December, Rollins said farmers who qualify could expect”payments in their bank accounts” by February 28 – six daysafter applications open. * “These resources will help carry producers into the nextseason, truly a bridge, as purchase commitments and new tradedeals take effect and input costs continue to decline,” Rollinstold a packed ballroom at the Agricultural Outlook Forum inArlington, Virginia on Friday. * Rollins did not immediately respond to questions about howUSDA will process an expected flood of applications. * Deep staffing cuts across the federal government lastyear, including at USDA’s Farm Service Agency offices in ruralAmerica, have slowed farmer access to many government services. * The federal payments will not fully compensate farmers forfinancial losses that have topped $30 billion in recent years,economists and industry groups said. * The aid will act as “a bridge until the improvements inthe farm bill programs are realized on the farm,” John Newton,vice president of public policy and economic analysis at theAmerican Farm Bureau Federation, told Reuters on the sidelinesof the conference. * Earlier this month, USDA had forecast that U.S. net farmincome would fall 0.7% this year, despite near-record governmentpayments expected to account for nearly 29% of producers’ bottomline. * USDA said it expects prices paid to farmers for corn,soybeans and wheat to rise slightly in the 2026/27 season,though prices remain well below recent highs. * Average prices were projected at $4.20 a bushel for corn,$10.30 for soybeans and $5.00 for wheat — 10 cents higher thanthe current season and well below 2022/23 levels, USDA datashowed. * USDA Chief Economist Justin Benavidez said ad hoc farmaid, which has reached near-historic levels in recent years, hashelped keep farmers in business during the downturn but likelysupported input prices.
(Reporting by Karl Plume in Arlington, Virginia, and P.J. Huffstutter in Chicago. Editing by Emily Schmall and Diane Craft)
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