The USDA will make $8 billion available for one-time payments to farmers this harvest season to offset temporary market disruptions and higher input costs.
USDA said the Harvest Fuel Relief program is authorized under the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act and will be run by the Farm Service Agency. Title I commodities are the program crops covered under the commodity title of farm law, and their payment rates will be released in November. The payment method for other eligible commodities will be announced later.
The mechanics mirror the Farmer Bridge Assistance program. Payments will follow a uniform formula that covers a portion of modeled losses during the 2026 crop year. USDA said the national loss average will be built from planted acres reported to the Farm Service Agency, Economic Research Service cost-of-production estimates, and yields and prices from the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates.
That puts the formula on national averages, not individual fuel bills. Based on the inputs USDA listed, a producer's payment will depend on reported acres and the rate set for each crop, not on the diesel actually burned during harvest. USDA has not said what share of modeled losses the payments will cover.
Producers do not need to be linked to crop insurance to take part. USDA still urged them to use the expanded risk management tools in the Working Families Tax Cuts Act to protect against future price risk and volatility. USDA asked producers of non-Title I commodities, including specialty crop growers and fishermen, to send data on their higher fuel costs to [email protected]. It will consider that data when it sets payment rates.
Rollins called the program "more targeted relief" and said the payments "will help bring certainty to our farmers during this harvest."
The program adds to a string of federal farm payments this year. According to USDA, the Farmer Bridge Assistance program paid $12 billion in one-time payments to more than 560,000 farmers earlier in 2026. About two weeks before the fuel announcement, nearly $14 billion in gross payments went out through the Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage programs. The department said that was about $8 billion more than producers would have received without the Working Families Tax Cuts Act.
For elevators, input suppliers and ag lenders, the timing matters as much as the total. No payment can be calculated until rates are published in November, and USDA has not announced an application period.
USDA advised eligible producers to create a Login.gov account linked to USDA before that announcement. Pre-filled applications will be available online to producers with linked accounts. Still open are the rate for each crop, the application dates and how specialty crop growers, fishermen and other non-Title I producers will be paid.
