Trump's $12B farm aid was meant as relief. The Iran war is wiping it out

Trump’s $12B farm aid was meant as relief. The Iran war is wiping it out
With rising costs of fuel and fertilizer, and tariffs still in place, the outlook for 2026 is bleak

By Garrett Owen
National Affairs Fellow
Published April 25, 2026 6:30AM (EDT)


(Salon) An agricultural relief package meant to counterattack President Donald Trump‘s tariffs on the nation’s farmers and producers met with mixed success and has been offset by rising costs from Trump’s Iran war, farmers and advocates say.

The Trump administration announced a $12 billion relief package last December, following months of trade wars and hardline tariff policies by the president, including a crippling economic stare down with China over buying American-grown soybeans. The United States Department of Agriculture said the one-time bridge payments were in response to “temporary trade market disruptions” and policies under President Joe Biden.

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A report released Wednesday by the American Farm Bureau Federation found that roughly $9.6 billion has already been distributed, with corn, wheat, and soybean producers accounting for 80% of payments. The report notes that the payments provided “some much-needed financial support to row crop farmers,” but that significant financial stressors remain. At the same time, it stressed the need to help specialty producers, who “continue to face significant uncovered losses.”

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Fertilizer prices have increased dramatically since the start of the war, as the nitrogen and phosphorus needed to produce fertilizer passing through the strait has become scarce. A March study from Purdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture found that the Iran War has caused a 46% national rise in diesel fuel costs, combined with a spike in fertilizer costs, creating “a severe shock arriving at the worst possible time for spring planting.” ................(more)

https://www.salon.com/2026/04/25/trumps-12b-farm-aid-was-meant-as-relief-the-iran-war-is-wiping-it-out/