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American farmers reeling from record-high diesel prices are getting $8 billion in relief from the Trump administration.
President Trump announced the move as both harvest season and the midterm elections near.
“Tonight I’m also pleased to announce that the Department of Agriculture will be launching a new Harvest Fuel Relief program, providing our farmers with $8 billion in support to offset diesel costs during this harvest season,” he said at a Monday night rally in Kansas, where he was stumping for GOP Sen. Roger Marshall.
“And when the Republicans win, we will pass even more funding for our farmers. We love our farmers,” he added.
Diesel prices are up a painful 75% over the past year, hitting a recent peak of $6.53 a gallon on Sept. 22. Since then, the cost has eased a bit, to $6.32 as of Tuesday, according to AAA.
The new “Harvest Fuel Relief” program will provide “simple, proportional support to producers using a uniform formula to cover a portion of modeled losses during the 2026 crop year,” according to the Department of Agriculture.
Specific payouts will be based on Farm Service Agency data, the department added.
Back in December, the feds offered a similar program, paying out $12 billion to more than 560,000 farmers hurt during the US’ trade wars as they dampened international demand for their goods.
This time, the payment program is aimed at addressing high costs during the war on Iran. Oil supplies were badly disrupted by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and ongoing Houthi attacks on Saudi oil facilities threaten to keep prices unstable.
Along with diesel fuel, nitrogen fertilizer is up.
It’s been a rough year for farmers. Monthly Chapter 12 bankruptcies, which restructure debt, reached a six-year high in April, according to Law360.
The American Farm Bureau Federation applauded Trump’s new policy.
“Farmers and ranchers welcome the administration’s announcement of $8 billion in relief through the Harvest Fuel Relief program to help farmers struggling with high diesel prices,” the lobbying group said in a statement.
“We look forward to working with the president and USDA to ensure specialty crop growers, livestock producers, fishermen and others get the support they need so they can continue growing the food America’s families rely on,” it added.
Still, the farm relief plan drew some criticism.
“It’s like an arsonist putting out a fire that he caused,” Gary Wertish, the president of the Minnesota Farmers Union, told the Post.
“It’s not going to have much of an impact,” he said of the payments. “Whenever prices go up, we never see them come down.”
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins hailed Trump as “the most pro-farmer president of my lifetime.”
“More targeted relief is coming to our farmers,” she said in a statement. “This $8 billion dollar investment will help bring certainty to our farmers during this harvest so they can continue to feed our nation.”