U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley says billions of dollars in federal assistance could be provided to struggling farmers in two tranches. But the Iowa Republican expects the bulk of any aid will require congressional approval before it can be distributed.
The Trump administration has teased it will soon announce $10 billion to $14 billion in assistance to farmers.
In a call with reporters Wednesday, Oct. 8, Grassley said the Trump administration could provide $4 billion from the coffers of the Commodity Credit Corp., an independent agency used to pay for ag programs. But appropriating additional aid for farmers — potentially “tens of billions of dollars,” Grassley said colleagues on the Senate Agriculture Committee have told him — would need Congress to act.
Iowa and U.S. farmers have struggled with steeply falling income. Since 2022, corn prices have tumbled about 50% and soybeans, 40%. At the same time, production costs have climbed and are projected to hit a record high this year, the American Farm Bureau Federation said in a report this week.
In addition, China is now boycotting buying U.S. soybeans in reaction to President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Beijing, the U.S. top soybean buyer, is instead turning to South American competitors.
Grassley and others say they’re concerned this farm downturn could echo the 1980s Farm Crisis, one of the worst recessions in Iowa’s history, with hundreds of farmers filing for bankruptcy and tens of thousands of jobs lost.
Earlier this year, farmers received $31 billion in economic and disaster aid, and while that was substantial, Michael Langemeier, a Purdue University agricultural economist, has said the payments weren’t enough to offset the large losses farmers have experienced since 2022.
Grassley says year-round E15 access should be part of relief package
Grassley said getting congressional approval for funding would enable the federal government to “address the root causes of the crisis in farm country, namely high input costs.” He said he would push to include his Fertilizer Research Act, introduced with his fellow Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, in an appropriations bill to help provide answers about why fertilizer prices have soared .
He said a farm assistance package also should include language allowing for year-round access to gasoline with 15% ethanol. E15 use is prohibited in many areas during summer months because of smog concerns. Year-round availability would create demand for an additional 2.5 billion bushels of the corn used to make it.
Grassley said he didn’t have any details on how much aid might be provided per acre.
“All we hear from the administration is the need for $10 (billion) to $14 billion, so the final figure hasn’t even been agreed upon,” he said.
Trump has suggested that his administration could provide aid to farmers from revenue generated from tariffs. But that move is likely to run into congressional challenges, experts have said.
During Trump’s first term, taxpayers sent farmers $23 billion in aid to offset trade war losses.
Donnelle Eller covers agriculture, the environment and energy for the Register. Reach her at deller@registermedia.com.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: US Sen. Chuck Grassley says assistance to farmers would need congressional action
Reporting by Donnelle Eller, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
