Hill Republicans, the White House and Department of Agriculture officials are starting to discuss how to fund a potential farmer bailout by the end of the year.
Congressional Agriculture Committee GOP staff spoke with White House officials last Friday to relay the need for farm aid action this fall, according to a person familiar with the meeting who was granted anonymity to discuss the private conversation.
But officials are still figuring out if the money will come from a USDA emergency fund — which is running low and will need replenishing — or through congressional appropriations, like the farm aid Congress passed last December.
Farmers have been struggling with economic headwinds like high input costs and low market prices on top of tariff and trade uncertainty, which has put pressure on lawmakers and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins over the last few months to find a solution. There’s precedent for a bailout: During President Donald Trump’s first term, the administration doled out $28 billion to boost farmers hit hard by his trade wars.
