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USDA grants $9 billion in farmer bridge assistance

USDA’s Deputy Secretary says more than $9 billion has been distributed through the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program.

Stephen Vaden tells Brownfield, “We have done so on average from receipt of a completed application within three business days.”

“That money is directly deposited into producers’ bank accounts, that’s at a record pace,” he shares.

Enrollment officially ended Friday, but Vaden says specialty crop growers still have more time to apply.

“We need the best data possible because if we’re going to calculate a payment rate, we need to know exactly how many acres of all of those specialty crops were produced,” he says. “The last thing we want to do is use bad data and run out of money.”

Vaden says the deadline was extended as requested by commodity organizations, giving specialty crop growers until April 24 to complete applications.

The program provides $11 billion in one-time assistance to row crop farmers and $1 billion to specialty crop and sugar producers. 

According to the program’s dashboard, corn and soybeans represent nearly two-thirds of payments.

The top 10 states receiving assistance include Iowa, Texas, Illinois, Kansas, North Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Indiana, and Missouri.