President Donald Trump, in a campaign rally Monday night in Kansas ahead of next month’s midterm elections, said USDA would provide $8 billion in relief to farmers squeezed by soaring diesel prices.
In a news release, USDA said it will tap into Commodity Credit Corporation funds for the Harvest Fuel Relief Program. USDA said that, similar to the $12 billion Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) program announced late last year, the Harvest Fuel Relief (HFR) program will provide proportional support to producers using a uniform formula to cover a portion of modeled losses during the 2026 crop year. This national loss average will be based on FSA reported planted acres, Economic Research Service cost of production estimates, and World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates yields and prices, USDA said.
USDA said commodity-specific payment rates for Title I commodities will be released in November, with payment methodology for other eligible commodities to be announced at a later date. Crop insurance linkage won’t be required for participation in the HFR program, but USDA said it strongly urges producers to take advantage of the enhanced risk management tools included in the Working Families Tax Cuts Act to protect against price risk and volatility in the future.
Diesel prices have surged to record levels partly as a result of the Iran war, which throttled flows of refined products from the Middle East. Intensified fighting between Russia and Ukraine, with Kyiv successfully targeting Russian refineries, has added to the squeeze, with Moscow implementing a diesel export ban earlier this year. Russia is typically the world’s second largest diesel exporter after the U.S. Trump earlier this month announced a deal to ease sanctions on Russia to allow the sale of diesel to the U.S. and on the world market. Trump late last week waived new sanctions that were due to take effect on Russia, drawing bipartisan pushback from lawmakers.
The package announced Monday is the latest attempt by the administration to bring relief. Besides easing Russia sanctions, the Trump administration moved last month to ease limits on using tax-exempt, red-dyed diesel for road use.
Trump announced the $8 billion aid package while campaigning for Republican Sen. Roger Marshall, who polls show locked in a tight race with Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton. Dissatisfaction among farmers with soaring input costs are seen undercutting prospects for some Republican candidates in traditionally safe GOP states and districts. Kansas hasn’t elected a Democrat to a Senate seat since 1932.