At the end of December, the USDA announced the payment rates for various crops that are included in the “Farmer Bridge Assistance” (FBA) program.
FBA payments are being made available to provide short-term financial relief to U.S. farmers facing economic hardship from low commodity prices, high input costs, and market disruptions due to tariff impacts on export markets.
The payments are intended to help farmers stay afloat until new farm safety net programs take full effect in late 2026.
A total of $12 billion was allocated for the FBA program to provide economic assistance payments to producers to offset low prices and poor profit margins for the 2025 crop year, as well as the market price impacts from tariffs on export markets for certain crops in the past year.
Of that total, $11 billion of the payments will be paid to producers of traditional farm crops like corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, and rice. The remaining $1 billion will be held back for economic assistance for specialty crop producers.
FBA payments will be based on the 2025 planted acres of eligible crops, as reported to local Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices on or before Dec. 19, 2025.
Any prevent plant acres in 2025 are not eligible for the FBA payments.
The payment amounts for each crop were based on the national average yield times the projected 2025-26 market year average (MYA) price in the Dec. 9, 2025, WASDE report, minus the 2025 average production cost for a commodity, based on USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) data.
The MYA prices in the December WASDE report were $4 per bushel for corn, $10.50 per bushel for soybeans, and $5.50 per bushel for wheat.
Following are the FBA economic assistance payment rates announced for some of the most common crops:
Corn, $44.36 per acre
Soybeans, $30.88 per
acre
Wheat, $39.35 per acre
Oats, $81.75 per acre
Barley, $20.51 per acre
Peas, $19.60 per acre
Sorghum, $48.11 per acre
Cotton, $117.35 per acre
Rice, $132.89 per acre
Peanuts, $55.65per acre
Applications for the FBA program will be made through local Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices, which will provide pre-filled FBA application forms listing producers’ 2025 crop acreage and other pertinent information.
Producers will then need to verify the information and sign the application forms.
The pre-filled application forms should be available at FSA offices by the week of Feb. 23. Distribution of the FBA payments is expected to begin by Feb. 28.
The payment limit for the FBA payments will be $155,000 per eligible person or legal entity.
There will not be higher payment limits based on having 75 percent of taxable income received from farming enterprises, similar to some previous FSA programs.
Entities such as corporations, LLC’s, S corporations and trusts will be limited to one payment limit of $155,000.
Any person or legal entity with an adjusted gross income (AGI) exceeding $900,000, based on FSA criteria, will not be eligible to receive FBA payments.
Farmers seeking more information on the “Farmer Bridge Payments” can contact their local FSA office. In Rock County, the phone number is 507-283-2369.
