WASHINGTON, D.C.: Facing rising anxiety among farmers squeezed by his tariffs on China, President Donald Trump on December 8 announced a US$12 billion aid package aimed at cushioning the sector from mounting costs and weakened export demand.

Trump detailed the plan during a White House roundtable with Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, lawmakers from agricultural states, and farmers who described mounting financial strain. One attendee, Iowa farmer Cordt Holub, thanked the president directly, saying, "With this bridge payment, we'll be able to farm another year."

Rollins said the program carries an immediate value of $11 billion in one-time payments for row-crop farmers, with another $1 billion set aside for specialty crop producers while the administration assesses their needs. Payments are expected to move by the end of February.

"We looked at how they were hurt, to what extent they were hurt," Trump said, adding that tariff revenue will fund the program.

Later this month, the USDA will apply a production-cost formula to determine per-acre payments for each crop. Aid will be capped at $155,000 per farm or person, and eligibility will be limited to those earning under $900,000 annually — a restriction meant to avoid disproportionately benefiting large operations, a criticism leveled at Trump's earlier farm aid programs.

Although farmers have been among Trump's most loyal political supporters, many have grown increasingly wary of the volatility created by shifting tariff policies. The new assistance is part of the administration's effort to defend its economic record and respond to voters' concerns about rising costs.

Soybean and sorghum growers have been hit hardest by Trump's trade standoff with Beijing. More than half of U.S. production of those crops is exported each year, with China traditionally the largest buyer. After Trump met Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea in October, the White House said Beijing had committed to purchase at least 12 million metric tons of U.S. soybeans by year's end and 25 million metric tons annually for three years after that.

China has so far bought more than 2.8 million metric tons since the announcement, roughly a quarter of the volume Trump's aides initially outlined. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said China remains on track to meet the goal by the end of February, two months later than the White House originally projected.

The $12 billion relief package approximates the total value of U.S. soybean exports to China in 2024 and equals about half of all U.S. agricultural exports to the country that year.

Producers welcome the immediate assistance but say it does not resolve fundamental pressures — rising input costs, unstable markets, and shrinking margins. During Trump's first term, farmers received more than $22 billion in 2019 in response to the trade war and nearly $46 billion in 2020, though that sum included pandemic relief.

Many warn that smaller and younger farmers are most vulnerable, especially those who rent land and have little equity to borrow against. Iowa farmer Robb Ewoldt, who owns just 160 of the 2,000 acres he farms, is selling nonessential equipment and considering overnight trucking work to stay afloat.

"It is to the point where I don't want to saddle my kid with the kind of stress that my wife and I are under right now," Ewoldt said.

Others, like Minnesota farmer Darin Johnson, remain more hopeful, saying established farms still have the borrowing capacity to survive the downturn.

Meanwhile, Trump has also faced pressure over soaring beef prices and has asked the Justice Department to investigate foreign-owned meat packers he accuses of inflating costs, without presenting evidence. On December 6, he signed an executive order directing federal agencies to examine "anti-competitive behavior" across the food supply chain, including seeds, fertilizer, and equipment.