On Monday, December 8th, President Trump and Secretary Rollins announced that the USDA will provide $12 billion in one-time payments to American farmers. This announcement follows several financially tough years for row crop producers, with the goal of providing some support until investments from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) can bring relief to eligible farmers next year. In today’s article, we discuss the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program and upcoming deadlines to apply for assistance.
Farmer Bridge Assistance Program
On Monday, December 8th, the United States Department of Agriculture, along with President Trump and Secretary Rollins, announced that $12 billion will be authorized under the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act to support American farmers. As part of these one-time payments, the Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) Program is included to support row crop producers. Crop losses from 2025 are expected to surpass $40 billion. While the FBA Program will certainly provide some relief, it is expected that the program will only cover about 27% of producer losses from the 2025 crop year.
Structure of the FBA Program
Of the $12 billion in one-time payments provided by the USDA, approximately $11 billion will be used to fund the FBA Program. The remaining $1 billion will be reserved for specialty crops not included in the FBA Program.
Commodities covered in the FBA Program include:
The FBA Program will provide support for a portion of estimated losses received in the 2025 crop year. The formula to estimate average national losses is based on planted acres reported by FSA. Cost of production estimates will come from the USDA Economic Research Service. Yields and prices will come from the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) Report. This structure is similar to the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP) that producers received earlier this year. However, unplanted acres or those that were prevented from being planted will not be eligible for the FBA Program, according to the USDA.
Payments under the FBA Program will be capped at $155,000 per person or legal entity. The limit for adjusted gross income under the FBA Program is $900,000.
How to Apply for the FBA Program
The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) will administer the FBA Program. To determine eligibility and apply for assistance through the FBA Program, please contact your local FSA Agent. The deadline to apply for the FBA Program is 5pm ET (4pm CST) on December 19, 2025. Producers should ensure that all acreage and reporting is factual and accurate by this deadline.
For a list of FSA Local Offices serving Texas, please visit: https://www.texaslandcan.org/state-resources/FSA-Local-Offices/140/.
To submit questions, justification for USDA farmer bridge aid, or to request a meeting on farmer bridge aid, producers can reach out to farmerbridge@usda.gov.
Important Dates and Deadlines
December 19, 2025: 2025 acreage reporting deadline – ensure all acreage reporting is factual and accurate by 5pm ET (4pm CST).
December 22, 2025: USDA is expected to announce individual commodity-specific payment rates this week.
February 28, 2026: Expected date for final payments from FBA Program.