Washington, D.C.: President Donald J. Trump, alongside U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins, announced on Monday (October 19, 2026) that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) 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 Trump is the most pro-farmer president of my lifetime and he is continuing to put Farmers First every day,” said Secretary Rollins. “Today, I am proud to announce alongside President Trump more targeted relief is coming to our farmers through the Harvest Fuel Relief program. This $8 billion dollar investment will help bring certainty to our farmers during this harvest so they can continue to feed our nation.”
How the Program Works
Similar to the Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) program, the Harvest Fuel Relief (HFR) program will provide simple, proportional support to producers using a uniform formula to cover a portion of modelled losses during the 2026 crop year. This national loss average 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.
The $8 billion in payments are authorised under the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Charter Act and will be administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA).
Payment Timeline and Eligibility
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.
Crop insurance linkage will not be required for participation; however, USDA strongly urges producers to take advantage of enhanced risk management tools included in the Working Families Tax Cuts Act to protect against future price risk and volatility.
Producers of non-Title I commodities — including specialty crop growers and fishermen — are encouraged to provide data on increased fuel costs to HarvestFuel@usda.gov for USDA’s consideration when determining payment rates.
Eligible producers are encouraged to create a Login.gov account in advance of the application period announcement, as pre-filled applications will be available online to producers with a Login.gov account linked to USDA.
Part of a Broader Support Package
The HFR program builds on earlier administration support for farmers. Earlier this year, the Farmer Bridge Assistance program delivered $12 billion in one-time bridge payments to over 560,000 farmers. Two weeks ago, nearly $14 billion in gross payments were provided to producers through the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs via the Working Families Tax Cuts Act — an approximate $8 billion increase over what farmers would have received without the bill.
