President Donald Trump announced on Monday, December 8 that the U.S. Department of Agriculture will make $12 billion available in one time bridge payments to American farmers, in response to temporary trade market disruptions and increased production costs that are still impacting farmers.

These bridge payments are intended in part to aid farmers until historic investments from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, including reference prices which are set to increase between 10 to 21 percent for major covered commodities such as soybeans, corn, and wheat and will reach eligible farmers on October 1, 2026.

Farmers who qualify for the FBA Program can expect payments to be released by February 28, 2026, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

The remaining $1 billion of the $12 billion in bridge payments will be reserved for commodities not covered in the FBA Program such as specialty crops and sugar, for example, though details including timelines for those payments are still under development and require additional understanding of market impacts and economic needs.