Trump asks Congress for $11.1 billion more in farm aid

Donald Trump on Wednesday asked Congress for $11.1 billion in new farm aid, folding the request into an $87.6 billion supplemental spending package that would mix income support, storm relief and policy changes. The White House request, sent by Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought to House Speaker Mike Johnson, set aside $10 billion for row-crop and specialty-crop producers planted in crop year 2026 and $1.1 billion for Florida farmers hit by winter storms in late 2025 and early 2026.

The package also pushed Congress to make year-round E15 ethanol sales available and to change federal hemp law, signaling that the farm ask was tied to a broader political and energy agenda. The administration has already distributed $12 billion in aid to farmers this year, a sign that repeated emergency support has become a regular part of agricultural policy as producers face high fuel and fertilizer costs, low crop prices and supply-chain strain linked to the conflict involving Iran and the Strait of Hormuz.

The scale of the request matters because federal support is already doing more of the work in farm country. U.S. Department of Agriculture forecasts put direct government farm program payments at $44.3 billion in 2026, up $13.8 billion, or 45.2%, from $30.5 billion in 2025 before any new money from this request. If Congress approves the latest package, total direct payments to farmers would reach about $55.4 billion this year, equal to roughly 33% of total farm income and the highest share since 2001, according to Meridian Agribusiness Advisors.

That level of aid also underscores how much weaker the underlying farm economy has become. USDA’s 2026 forecast puts net farm income at $153.4 billion even with heavy government payments, while more than 200 national and state agricultural organizations appealed for more economic assistance late in 2025. House Agriculture Chairman Glenn "GT" Thompson has said the sector needs far more, at one point floating a $20 billion figure in April 2026, which suggests the White House request may still fall short of what farm-state lawmakers want as Republicans defend narrow congressional majorities ahead of the November midterms.