‘A slap in the face’: Not all US farmers happy with Trump’s $12 billion aid package
US soybean growers, who were hit hardest by tariff disputes, have voiced frustration that overdue funding falls well short of what they need
But the announcement has not pleased all farmers, particularly those still struggling with low prices and lost markets. Some said it was too little, too late, and that a bailout wouldn’t be necessary if there were no tariffs.
John Bartman, a soybean farmer from Illinois, said the aid was a “drop in the bucket” and “roughly the same amount of money that China would have purchased in a normal year anyway”.
“It’s just the stupidity of the whole situation that we’re in this mess. And why is China not upholding their end of the bargain? Why do we have to have this payment in the first place?” he added.
US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the government will issue US$11 billion in direct “bridge payments” to crop farmers by the end of February 2026, while holding back US$1 billion to assess needs among speciality crop producers.
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While blaming his predecessor Joe Biden for the “total mess” and “highest inflation”, Trump said that the aid would not be “possible without tariffs” and called $12 billion “a lot of money”.