WASHINGTON (RFD-TV) — The aid package that many farmers and ranchers were expecting this week is now delayed.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last week said an announcement would be made on Tuesday. However, that self-imposed deadline has now passed. The White House is now saying the ongoing government shutdown has thrown a wrench into those plans.
In a post on social media, White House Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai says help is on the way for American farmers, but it could take until the shutdown is over to be delivered.
Help is on the way for American farmers - just not from the Democrats who shut our government down and threw a wrench in our ability to deliver for the American people.
— Kush Desai (@KushDesai47) October 7, 2025
All to push free health care for illegal immigrants. https://t.co/L3o2KDdogo
While aid to rural America may take some time to be delivered, agriculture lawmakers are closely monitoring the situation. Senator John Hoeven (R-ND) says any relief to American farmers would send a strong message overseas.
“It’s critical that we don’t allow China to use our farmers as a pressure point,” Sen. Hoeven said. “By acting now and providing assistance to our producers during these negotiations, we will send a very strong signal to China that their tactics will not work.”
Hoeven says he has been working with the Trump Administration on this expected aid package for a while now. He hopes that any assistance from Washington will allow farmers and ranchers time to keep their operations afloat.
Other ag lawmakers, such as Senate Ag Committee member Deb Fischer (R-NE), told colleagues this week that while steps have been taken to make farmers whole, they don’t take effect immediately.
“We passed $10 billion in farm aid last December and included a major boost for producers in July’s reconciliation law,” Sen. Fischer said. “However, that money won’t reach farmers until next fall. Producers need relief now.”
Aside from lost sale revenue, Sen. Fischer said, farmers are still facing an uphill battle with rising input costs.
Farm economists, such as Brett Wilder from the University of Idaho, agree, saying the situation is unlikely to improve next year.
“Chemical fertilizer prices have been super volatile because of some of the trade discussions, yes, but also the disruptions we had over in the Middle East earlier this year, and a huge part of the chemical and fertilizer trade goes through the Strait of Hormuz,” Wilder explained. “Fuel has been a stable point, but when you talk about how the crop sector is doing, not only do you have these really poor output prices, but we have this situation where inputs got high, have stayed high, and aren’t really showing any signs of going lower.”
Fear Growing for Commodity Growers
Just last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Department of Justice. Together, they will examine input costs, such as seed and fertilizer, to explore ways to reduce them for America’s producers.
However, these actions take time, and with just over 30 working days for both the House and Senate, lawmakers’ ability to restore appropriations, finalize farmer aid, and pen a new Farm Bill is a tall order.
Meanwhile, many farmers say they are on the brink, and they need help sooner rather than later. Jed Bower, the incoming president of the National Corn Growers Association (NGCA), joined us on Wednesday’s Market Day Report for his sector’s perspective.
“I think it’s a lot of worry and a lot of scared,” Bower said in his interview with RFD-TV News. “You know, as we hear this term crisis, I mean, it gets louder and louder every day. As you mentioned, we’re looking at the largest decline in years. We haven’t seen inputs fall off quite like that.”
The NGCA recently formed a task force to address the skyrocketing cost of inputs, such as steel and fertilizer – many of which are rising exponentially due to the Trump Administration’s retaliatory tariff strategy – that are squeezing corn growers.
“We do applaud the administration, and the [ag] secretary, [Brooke Rollins] -- they’re out beating the bush around the world,” Bower said. “We’re seeing truly record exports in the corn sector. But, man, the price farmers are getting – it is just not making any sense for what it’s going to cost us to put next year’s crop out. And we appreciate, you know, some of the comments made by the Secretary and the Deputy Secretary about diving into this more and seeing why there’s such a broad, broad distance between what we’re able to sell our product for and truly what it’s going to cost us to put next year’s crop out.”
According to recent research, corn growers could spend up to 40% of their budgets on fertilizers alone.
Traders “Flying Blind” Without USDA Data
With the government shutdown still active, a large majority of the Natural Resources and Conservation Service (NRCS) staff is currently out of work. Estimates indicate that around 500 staff members remain at present. On any given day, USDA has nearly that amount working on conservation efforts alone. The shutdown does not impact state-funded projects.
The shutdown is also impacting USDA reports, with most now on pause, including the WASDE report, which will not be issued this month. The last major report provided an overview of the U.S. corn crop, but traders note that without government numbers, they are essentially flying blind.
”Adding about 200 million bushels to last year’s final number effectively adds 200 million bushels to the new crop number, even though we will see maybe some yield adjustments or maybe an export number adjustment,” said Gregory McBride with Allendale. “The problem is we don’t have the USDA for right now, so we’re kind of flying blind on that.”
Recently, Allendale conducted its own survey on the U.S. corn crop, which was consistent with previously released USDA data.
Nearly half of the USDA’s workforce is classified as “non-essential,” meaning they’re not working while the government is shut down. Both sides remain in a standoff, but more votes are scheduled this week that could reopen the government.
