By P.J. Huffstutter and Julie Ingwersen
CHICAGO, Dec 31 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Agriculture released details on Wednesday about how much row crop farmers will receive next year from a $12 billion aid program, but soybean growers say such payments fall short of helping those hurt by low crop prices and trade disputes.
The Farmer Bridge Assistance program is expected to distribute $11 billion in one-time payments to farmers, who will be paid on a per-acre rate if they planted one of the 19
commodity crops identified as being eligible for the program, USDA said in a statement on Wednesday.
U.S. farmers produced massive corn and soybean harvests this fall amid a global glut of grain, and lost billions of dollars amid falling crop prices. Soybean farmers were particularly hard hit by the loss of soybean sales to China, by far the world's top buyer, when it turned to South American suppliers during stalled trade talks.
While the aid is expected to help farmers prepare for the next planting season, growers and agricultural economists say the payments are a fraction of farm losses and will not rescue the sagging U.S. farm economy.
The highest per-acre payments will be paid to rice farmers, who could receive $132.89 an acre; cotton farmers, at $117.35 an acre; and oat farmers, at $81.75 an acre. Meanwhile, farmers are eligible for a payment of $44.36 per corn acre, $30.88 per soybean acre and $39.35 per wheat acre. The payments are calculated using 2025 planted acres, cost-of-production data, and market conditions, USDA said.
“Due to significant trade losses this year, the payment rate for soybeans will likely not be enough for soybean farmers to keep their operations financially solvent as we move into the next planting season,” said Scott Metzger, an Ohio farmer and president of the American Soybean Association, a trade group that represents nearly a half-million soybean producers.
Sorghum growers are set to receive more than soybean growers at $48.11 per acre, and see the payments as a welcome help even as export demand has improved recently, said Tim Lust, chief executive officer of the National Sorghum Producers.
Other crops that qualify include peanuts, sorghum, barley, canola, sunflower, lentils, peas, mustard, safflower, flax, large and small chickpeas, and sesame. The payments are expected to be received by February 28, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a statement.
U.S. President Donald Trump initially unveiled the $12 billion aid package for American farmers on December 8, as farm groups and Republican farm-state lawmakers have sought the aid in part to support farmers with purchases of seeds, fertilizer and other expenses.
The remaining $1 billion of the $12 billion aid package is being reserved for specialty crop and sugar farmers, USDA said, but how that money will be distributed, and the timing of such payments, is still being determined.
(Reporting By P.J. Huffstutter and Julie Ingwersen in Chicago, additional reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington D.C. and Renee Hickman in Chicago, editing by Chris Reese)
