WASHINGTON, D.C. – The check is in the mail….almost. That’s the message from U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins who announced the next phase in the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program (FBA), the eligible commodity per-acre payment rates.
As Trump’s trade wars unraveled the U.S. farm economy, (a repeat from his first administration) farmers and trade organizations lobbied for another taxpayer bailout to keep them in business. In response, USDA announced that $12 billion will be paid to American farmers in 2026. Of that amount, $11 billion consists of one-time FBA program payments.
Farmers who qualify for the FBA Program can expect payments in their bank accounts by February 28, 2026, according to Rollins
In Trump’s first term, his administration also handed out $28 billion in direct taxpayer-funded payments to help farmers financially survive the trade wars he created in his first term in office, and the subsequent decline in farm revenue — a tactic the Trump Administration is employing again.
Below are the payment rates for the FBA eligible commodities that triggered a payment.
Eligible Row Crop Commodities and Payment Rates:
• Barley: $20.51
• Canola: $23.57
• Chickpeas (Large): $26.46
• Chickpeas (Small): $33.36
• Corn: $44.36
• Cotton: $117.35
• Flax: $8.05
• Lentils: $23.98
• Mustard: $23.21
• Oats: $81.75
• Peanuts: $55.65
• Peas: $19.60
• Rice: $132.89
• Safflower: $24.86
• Sesame: $13.68
• Sorghum: $48.11
• Soybeans: $30.88
• Sunflower: $17.32
• Wheat: $39.35
Eligibility, Program Applications, and Crop Insurance Linkage
FBA payments are based on 2025 planted acres, Economic Research Service cost of production, and the World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimate Report. Prevent plant acres are not eligible.
All intended row crop uses are eligible for FBA except grazing, volunteer stands, experimental, green manure, crops left standing and abandoned or cover crops.
Crop insurance linkage is not required; however, USDA strongly urges producers to take advantage of the new risk management tools provided for in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) to best protect against future price risk and volatility. The OBBBA federal crop insurance improvements include expanding benefits for beginning farmers and ranchers, increasing coverage options, and making crop insurance more affordable.
Specialty Crop Assistance
Of the $12 billion being provided by the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act, up to $11 billion is being directed to eligible row crop producers and the remaining $1 billion of the $12 billion in assistance is reserved for specialty crops and sugar. Timelines for payments to producers of these crops are still under development and require additional understanding of market impacts and economic needs.
Industry Response
“While the rates announced do not come close to making wheat farmers whole for the per-acre losses experienced in 2025, the $39.35 per-acre payment for planted wheat will help lighten the blow of a challenging year,” said Pat Clements, NAWG President.
