President Donald Trump on Monday unveiled a $12 billion assistance package for farmers hurt by ongoing trade wars and inflation, USA Today reported.

“This relief will provide much needed certainty to farmers as they get this year’s harvest to market and look ahead to next year’s crops,” Trump said during a White House event with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, lawmakers and farmers.

Trump is helping the ag industry by negotiating trade deals to open new export markets for farmers, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said.

But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) said Trump wants credit for fixing a mess of his own making.

“Trump’s tariffs are hammering our farmers, making it more expensive to grow food and pushing farmers into bankruptcy,” Schumer said.

Within the aid package, $11 billion will go to a newly designed Farmer Bridge Assistance program – providing one-time payments to row-crop farmers who produce barley, chickpeas, corn, cotton, lentils, oats, peanuts, peas, rice, sorghum, soybeans, wheat, canola, crambe, flax, mustard, papeseed, safflower, sesame, and sunflower. 

Farmers who qualify for the FBA program can expect payments to be released by Feb. 28. Eligible farmers should ensure their 2025 acreage reporting is factual and accurate by Dec. 19.

The remaining $1 billion will be reserved for other crops, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture will determine based on market conditions.

The American Farm Bureau Federation said recently that aid was “urgently needed” with farm bankruptcies on the rise, as the costs to grow crops outpaced the revenues farmers received.

Farmers experienced multi-billion-dollar declines in exports with their largest overseas markets, including China, after Trump imposed tariffs on imports from abroad.

American soybean farmers in particular were hurt this year because China retaliated against U.S. tariffs with its own tax hikes, which led to buying from Brazil and Argentina instead.

China historically bought half of U.S. soybeans.

Analyst and trader Ken Morrison estimated to Farm Progress that payments from this aid package could be as much as roughly $50 per acre for farmers.

Many farmers said the aid announced this week is just a temporary fix. 

“This is kind of a Band-Aid — we need more markets more than we need aid,” Missouri farmer Marty Richardson told Farm Progress, adding he feels like 2026 will be just as bad as this year. “We’re already buying seed for next year and fertilizer, and we’re behind the eight ball.”