Eligible Producers Must File Updated Acreage Reports Immediately

President Trump this week announced that the USDA will deliver $11 billion in one-time bridge payments to help farmers offset 2025 trade disruptions and rising costs under a newly designated Farmer Bridge Assistance program. An additional $1 billion is set aside for specialty crops, bringing the total assistance program to $12 billion.

For producers, a key requirement for eligibility is to verify 2025 acreage reports to the Farm Service Agency (FSA) by Dec. 19, 2025. Payments are expected to start by Feb. 28, 2026.

The FBA program is being funded by tariff revenues that the U.S. government has collected since last summer.

Eligible Commodities

Producers who are eligible for FBA assistance include row crop farmers who produce barley, chickpeas, corn, cotton, lentils, oats, peanuts, peas, rice, sorghum, soybeans, wheat, canola, crambe, flax, mustard, rapeseed, safflower, sesame and sunflower.

How Payments Will Work

The FBA Program will apply proportional support to producers using a uniform formula to cover a portion of modeled losses during the 2025 crop year. This national loss average is based on FSA reported planted acres, Economic Research Service cost of production estimates, World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates yields and prices and economic modeling. Additionally:

  • The new payment limit of $155,000 per legal entity or person will be effective, as allowed by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB).
  • A producer must not exceed $900,000 in adjusted gross income to be eligible.
  • No option for additional payment limitation will be considered as seen in previous disaster programs.
  • Unlike previous disaster programs, there is no requirement to purchase crop insurance to receive benefits under the FBA program.
  • Payment rates for commodity-specific payouts are expected to be announced later this month, December 2025.

What Producers Need to Do Now

We reiterate that to be eligible for FBA assistance, producers must file updated and accurate 2025 acreage reports to their administrative FSA office by the close of business on Dec. 19, 2025. This is a hard deadline and it’s right on our doorstep, so immediate action is key.

Questions?

The Farmer Bridge Assistance program offers potentially significant aid to producers who have been hit by trade-related disruptions or high input costs. If you have questions about how to update your acreage report in time for the Dec. 19 deadline, contact an Adams Brown agribusiness advisor.