Ag News

White House asks for additional aid for farmers

On June 24, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) sent a supplemental funding request to Congress highlighting the need for funding for a variety of initiatives, including help for row and specialty crop farmers and a call for year-round access to E15 fuel.

The American Farm Bureau Federation praised the moves and called for Congress to provide the aid.

The OMB asked for $10 billion temporary economic assistance for row crop and specialty crop farmers and $1.1 billion for the Processing, Research and Marketing account within the USDA for producers who sustained losses from winter storms in late 2025 and early 2026.

“Farmers are grateful to have the president’s backing at such a critical time after enduring years of economic losses due to inflation and depressed markets. Additional aid will give farmers optimism headed into harvest later this year as they await the benefits of enhanced farm bill programs, better market access overseas and stronger domestic demand,” said AFBF President Zippy Duvall. “Not only do we urge Congress to heed the White House call to deliver economic aid, but we also know both sides of the aisle in Congress recognize more is needed as farmers’ losses nationwide far exceed $11 billion. Over the last decade we have lost nearly 200,000 farms, so we need to stabilize the farm economy and reverse that trend. Additional aid will certainly help.”

AFBF said expanding access to E15 fuel would strengthen domestic energy production, increase demand for American-grown crops and save consumers money on fuel.

To read the OMB letter to Congress, click here.

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