WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Agriculture will make $8 billion available for one-time payments to American farmers this harvest season to provide relief during temporary market disruptions and increased input costs.
President Donald Trump announced the “harvest fuel relief” program during a midterm election speech on Oct. 19 in Kansas.
Diesel prices peaked at just over $6.50 per gallon in mid-September, as the fall crop harvest was kicking off across the country. Disruptions in global fuel supplies tied to the U.S.-Iran conflict and Russia’s war in Ukraine drove the price surge.
Farm groups, including the American Farm Bureau Federation and National Association of Wheat Growers, were quick to praise the new program but expressed concern about the overall farm economy.
“While this relief is welcome, high fuel prices and other input costs continue to squeeze farm margins and threaten the viability of family farms,” said NAWG CEO Sam Kieffer.
Program details
Similar to the Farmer Bridge Assistance program that handed out $12 billion in one-time payments to more than 560,000 farmers earlier this year, the Harvest Fuel Relief program will pay producers for some of the losses incurred during the 2026 crop year
The payment formula 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.
Commodity-specific payment rates for Title I commodities will be released in November. Payment methodology for other eligible commodities will be announced at a later date. Pre-filled applications will be available online to producers with a Login.gov account linked to USDA.
Producers of non-Title I commodities, including specialty crop growers and fishermen, are encouraged to provide data related to increased fuel costs to HarvestFuel@usda.gov for USDA’s consideration when determining payment rates.
Lowering prices?
This is not the first attempt by the administration to address the historically high fuel costs that are squeezing farmers.
Earlier this month, Trump signed an executive order to temporarily allow untaxed off-road diesel for highway use. The order specifically deferred the 24.4-cent-per-gallon federal excise tax on diesel fuel, but did not change state rules that ban the highway use of off-road diesel.
Trump also announced last week that he struck a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin to import tons of Russian diesel to the U.S., going against sanctions passed by Congress in 2022.
