Trump touts $11.1 billion aid request to woo struggling farmers
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump had a surprise for the farmers he invited to dinner at the White House on Thursday: a request to Congress for $11.1 billion in assistance that would amount to the second bailout of the year for the beleaguered agriculture sector.
The appeal to Congress is part of a supplemental funding package that includes defense spending. It seeks $10 billion in assistance for growers of crops such as corn, soybeans and rice, along with $1.1 billion for Florida producers affected by winter storms late in 2025 and earlier in 2026.
The aid request was one of several items rolled out by the administration this week to woo farmers, who have formed a key part of the president's political constituency but have been hurt by the backlash to some of his more controversial actions, including imposing sweeping global tariffs and launching a war with Israel against Iran.
Late Thursday, the White House released an executive order that aims to bolster regenerative agriculture, and at the dinner, Trump promised that Iran's rebuilding after the war could be a boon for American farmers.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran, they're having a hard time with food, and we're going to be taking some of their money, and we'll spend it, and we're going to be buying wheat and soybeans," Trump said at a Rose Garden dinner.
"That process is going to be starting pretty soon. It's going to be pretty big too. I think it's going to be very big."
It all comes as the Iran war resulted in soaring costs for fuel and fertilizer, further squeezing farmers already dealing with Trump's tariff regime that crimped US crop exports to the world's top buyer China and also raised prices for imported raw materials.
The new aid request follows a separate $12 billion package, first announced in December, that started paying out earlier this year. Taken together, the two packages would be roughly equal to the $23 billion in payments to farms for losses linked to international trade disruptions during Trump's first term.
"It is no secret that farm country is struggling, and this temporary economic support will go a long way to provide farmers with economic stability," said Scott Metzger, an Ohio grower and president of the American Soybean Association.
However, Nebraska farmer Ben Steffen said the aid is appreciated but only helps so much.
"The last time they sent us some relief like this, we got a check for what amounted to $25 an acre," he said, a fraction of his budget to raise corn. "That $25 is gone in a whisper."
Steffen said a much broader approach is needed to solve the challenges producers are up against. "We need a trade policy that's coherent, that's consistent," he said.
While oil and fertilizer prices have been falling amid hopes for the Strait of Hormuz reopening, and China has started buying American soybeans again, many farmers need higher crop prices to turn a profit. Prices for corn, the biggest US crop, dropped to just $4.315 a bushel for the autumn harvest, a fresh contract low Thursday before prices turned higher.
The dinner and the announcement marked the latest move by the president to actively court American growers, a key voting bloc, before midterm elections. He has hosted farmers on various occasions, holding a "celebration of agriculture"- complete with a gold-colored tractor on the White House lawn - in March.
Crop insurance coverage was expanded as part of Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill, and the administration has also pointed to $30 billion in ad hoc assistance since January 2025.
Cordt Holub, a fourth generation Iowa farmer who grows corn and soybeans, sat next to Trump when he announced the $12 billion in farm aid last year. Pressures from high costs to run farms and comparably low crop prices haven't improved, he said.
"If things weren't affordable then, they're actually a little less affordable now," said Holub, who pointed out that in the last few months "corn prices have plummeted," soybean prices are also down, and fertilizer and seeds are still expensive.
While the aid comes amid what Holub called "red flags" in the farm economy, he remained supportive of Trump's trade efforts. "On the rural front, there's optimism that if there's somebody to get it done, it would be him, because he did it before," Holub said, referencing Trump's Phase One deal with China during his first administration.
Sentiment about current conditions among US farmers recently fell to the lowest levels since Trump returned to office in January 2025, according to the Purdue University and CME Group's index. Bankruptcies for Midwestern farm operations were up 60% in the first quarter, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.
In Florida, freezes earlier this year caused an estimated $3.1 billion in losses for growers of strawberries, tomatoes, bell peppers and other food products, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture.
Ethanol Support
The request to Congress also included an ask for "an urgent and needed fix that codifies the permanent, year-round sale" of higher-ethanol E15 gasoline, in a nod to corn farmers as they seek new sources of demand.
Most conventional gasoline currently sold in the US contains about 10% ethanol, made primarily with corn, with federal limits on fuel volatility generally blocking widespread summertime sales of a higher 15% blend.
Trump has repeatedly said he's in favor of expanding E15 availability, and, like former President Joe Biden, his administration has issued emergency waivers to enable summertime sales. Yet more than a decade of congressional efforts to permanently authorize year-round E15 sales have failed in the face of oil industry opposition.
The government aid "is a small Band-Aid for a larger bleed out," said Nebraska farmer Tim Gregerson. "To stop this larger bleed out, we need E15 year-round passed," he said. "Give us year-round E15, that will help."
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(With assistance from Jennifer A. Dlouhy and John Harney.)
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This story was originally published June 25, 2026 at 9:06 PM.