By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
The Center Square

(The Center Square) – President Donald Trump has announced $11 billion in federal public aid for farmers.

The president made the announcement during a White House roundtable Monday afternoon, along with Cabinet members, federal lawmakers and members of the farming community.

The relief funds are aimed for producers of row crops, with an additional $1 billion in public funds being reserved for specialty crops and others.

Trump said the money would come from the “hundreds of billions of dollars” the U.S. is bringing through tariffs.

“What we’re doing is, we’re taking a relatively small portion of that and we’re going to be giving and providing it to the farmers in economic assistance,” the president said.

U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the relief funds are necessary due to a crisis that the Trump administration inherited.

“We are going to be effectuating an $11 billion bridge payment to our farmers. The money will move by Feb. 28, 2026,” Rollins said, adding that farmers would know what their payment would look like by the end of December.

“You will have that number in hand,” Rollins said, so farmers could make plans for the year ahead.

Joe Maxwell, Farm Action’s chief strategy officer and co-founder, said farmers across the country are hurting.

“We are glad to see help is on the way, including a reported $1 billion in assistance for specialty crop growers. This package recognizes that all farmers, not just row crop producers, are suffering from tariffs, soaring input costs, and years of volatile markets,” Maxwell said in a statement.

Maxwell said the current problems facing the U.S. agriculture system have been decades in the making due to policy that prioritizes commodity crops for export, which he said only benefits global grain traders and meatpackers.

“Without addressing the root causes of this issue, farmers will be left to continue relying on government assistance into the future. That is why Congress must take action and fix our failed subsidy system in the next farm bill,” Maxwell added.

Trump’s announcement comes just weeks after Gov. J.B. Pritzker declared an agricultural trade crisis in Illinois.

On Oct. 29, Pritzker signed an executive order directing state agencies to take immediate action to enhance domestic markets for agricultural commodities and continue investment in mental health support for farm families.

Pritzker and Illinois Department of Agriculture Director Jerry Costello said at the time that Illinois’ roughly $26.4 billion agricultural sector had been hurt by Trump’s tariffs and trade policies.

“While Donald Trump tweets from his golf course when he feels personally slighted by a foreign leader, Illinois farmers are losing their livelihoods,” Pritzker said.

Two Illinois congressmen offered social media reactions to Trump’s announcement.

Illinois U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Chicago, said the president is trying to paper over a crisis of his own making.

“His chaotic trade war and tariff policies have driven down prices, destabilized export markets, and left Illinois corn and soybean farmers holding the bag. A one-time $12 billion payout is not a strategy; it is a Band-Aid meant to cover up years of damage,” Jackson stated.

Illinois U.S. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, said the president’s announcement is welcome news for Southern Illinois.

“After years of soaring input costs, unstable markets, and zero new trade deals under the Biden–Harris administration, the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program will provide real, timely relief to producers who have been stretched thin through the years,” Bost posted.

Trump said he would be open to tapping into tariff revenue for farmers again if necessary.

“We’re going to make farmers so strong, and I’m not even talking about financially. They just want to be able to produce what they can produce. We’re going to make them so strong, it will be indeed a golden age for farmers,” the president said.

Trump said moves to eliminate the estate tax and end green equipment requirements would help farmers across the nation.