WASHINGTON.- President Donald Trump's administration has promised more than $15 billion in payments, loans and other initiatives for American agricultural producers in the final weeks before the November 3 midterm elections, aiming to offset soaring diesel and fertilizer costs that farmers largely blame on his tariffs and the eight-month war in Iran.
The package's largest piece is the USDA's $8 billion Harvest Fuel Relief program, announced on October 19 as a one-time payment to help farmers cover part of their modeled losses during the 2026 crop year. Payments will be calculated from planted acreage, production costs, crop yields and market prices, and the department said it will release commodity-specific payment rates in November, though it has not said when farmers will actually receive the money.
What the $15 billion package includes
Beyond the $8 billion in fuel relief, the Associated Press tally cited by the reports includes at least $5 billion in guaranteed loans for ranchers and fishermen, $1.8 billion in conservation payments, $573 million for fertilizer manufacturing projects, $57 million to expand meat processing capacity and $86.6 million in specialty crop grants. The initiatives will mostly use USDA funding and do not require immediate congressional approval.
The $15 billion is separate from $13.8 billion in existing safety-net payments for eligible producers for the 2025 crop year, covering corn, soybeans, wheat and rice. The USDA also announced plans to expand sales of diesel normally used only off-road, make cattle sale data more transparent and strengthen wolf management policies to protect livestock.
Diesel at $6.32 and the rural vote
Diesel averaged $6.32 a gallon on Friday, slightly below its September peak but about 70% higher than a year earlier, according to AAA data cited by the AP. Farmers use diesel for trucks, tractors and combines, and the surge, combined with higher fertilizer prices and weaker exports amid trade tensions with China, has squeezed rural producers.
The timing may explain Trump's increased attention to rural states: he campaigned Sunday in Iowa and Kansas, two states he has won handily in the past, two days before an election in which traditionally Republican rural seats are now considered competitive. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has described the program as a major investment in the sector, and Kansas State University farm management specialist Gregg Ibendahl told the AP he estimates the payments will "more than cover the increase in fuel costs."
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Sources: Associated Press via The Manila Times and TradingView, USDA, November 1-2, 2026.