WASHINGTON, D.C. (RFD NEWS) — Farm groups are pressing Congress for additional help as financial pressure continues to mount across rural America, and Senate leaders say more support is needed to keep producers operating through 2026. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman of Arkansas and Agriculture Appropriations Committee Chairman John Hoeven of North Dakota say expanded farm assistance must be included in the next funding bill to stabilize farm income and protect the food supply.
More than 55 agricultural organizations, led by the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), urged lawmakers to act as multi-year losses, high input costs, and weak commodity prices strain balance sheets. Boozman said recent investments delivered under President Donald Trump and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins were important but insufficient to offset the scale of losses producers continue to face.
Hoeven said the proposal is designed as a bridge until longer-term Farm Bill improvements take effect later this year, including higher reference prices, expanded crop insurance access, and stronger livestock disaster programs under the “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act (OBBBA). He said the goal is to help producers make it through the current season and remain financially viable.
The plan would build on USDA’s Farmer Bridge Assistance program by expanding coverage to include prevent-plant acres, aligning payment limits with updated Farm Bill provisions, and providing additional aid for producers who faced below-average prices or higher-than-normal costs. Targeted assistance would also be directed to specialty crop growers, sugar beet and cane producers, and operations facing credit constraints.
The proposal also calls for increasing Farm Ownership and Operating Loan limits to improve access to capital as financing needs rise.
