News

“Several holes in the boat:” Iowa farmer doubts impact of bridge aid

An Iowa farmer who serves on the United Soybean Board is still concerned about margins despite the government’s plan to issue bridge payments in early 2026.

Brent Renner grows corn and soybeans near Klemme.

“If you want to use the analogy of a shotgun hitting a boat, we’ve got several holes in our boat right now with the ag economy in general. And while this is certainly not an unwelcome band-aid, it’s maybe still a band-aid.”

He tells Brownfield the consensus among farmers is the assistance is already spoken for.

“That money has already been spent on next year’s fertilizer, inputs, whatever. And that’s the frustrating part about something like this, it feels as if it’s not going to give any incentive to lower some of those input costs. It’s just going to go from our hands to theirs.”

The Trump administration announced the $11 billion bridge payment program earlier this week, and USDA officials say eligible farmers will know what their payment will be by the end of December.