Farm Aid Packages Fail to Benefit All Farmers

On Monday, December 8, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the long-awaited farm aid package. The Farmer Bridge Assistance Program will provide $11 billion in one-time payments for major commodity crops, like corn, soybeans, cotton, rice, and barley, and $1 billion will be dedicated to other crops, including specialty crops like vegetables, fruits, and tree nuts. Commodity producers who go through the filing process should know commodity-specific payment rates by the end of the calendar year. There is no timeline or eligibility information available for specialty crop payments.

The Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) maintains that farm aid packages should benefit all farmers, especially those who keep money circulating in local economies. Commodity crops are used most often for animal feed, food additives, and oils, while specialty crops are more commonly direct-to-consumer products. We have consistently seen these aid packages send the message that specialty crops are not a priority of the federal government. At the end of a year fraught with so much uncertainty, all farmers need and deserve transformational support that does not feel like one step forward and two steps back.

In 2025 alone, $42 billion has been paid out to farmers, according to a Farm Bureau analysis. For decades, our secretaries of agriculture have heard that farmers want to farm for profits, not government subsidies. But many are stuck on this farm subsidy treadmill, trapped in a cycle of overproduction and reliant on government support.

_{Woodlyn Acres Farm, LLC in Dalton, Ohio (Photo Credit: OEFFA)}

“I totally disagree with [farm subsidies], but I have to stay on a level playing field with all my neighbors,” said Scott Myers, OEFFA Board Member, organic grain farmer, and owner of Woodlyn Acres in Dalton, Ohio. “I’m at a disadvantage if I don’t use it. I have a lot of conventional neighbors who say exactly the same thing.”

For organic producers like Myers, the bridge payments bring added complexity. “This new aid package is going to help the largest farmers and leaves small, specialized farmers of all types (organic and conventional) behind. It always seems to benefit the largest farms.”

Myers continued, “It’s not really hard for us to receive aid in most cases since we farm corn, soybeans, and wheat, but one thing that won’t be any different is that they won’t pay any more for organic. Organic grains will get paid at a conventional price. Historically, we should get paid more than we do.”

Organic agriculture enhances the health of the land, people, and natural world. Organic farmers have had unique hits to their bottom lines this year with the lack of critical support from the National Organic Cost Share Program, as 2025 cost-share support has not yet been released. Cost share provides important support to organic producers wishing to certify with the USDA. Organic producers have been faced with the increased costs of certification, on top of regular uncertainty from the USDA.

This bridge payment does not feel like a bridge, especially for farmers in OEFFA’s network. Many say the funding is not enough, especially when coming on the heels of the $40 billion bailout package to Argentina. The funding for the recent Farmer Bridge Assistance Package comes from the Commodity Credit Corporation, which is taxpayer-funded. Taxpayer dollars are largely funding these packages, while that money may not be kept locally with the farmer.

“Ninety-nine percent of this money doesn’t stay with the farmer,” Myers said. “It’s a pass-through for landowners to raise rents, and for fertilizer, equipment, and chemical companies to raise prices.”

OEFFA Federal Policy Coordinator Nicole Wolcott said, “Aid packages hardly support farmers in our network who are largely focused on feeding their local communities and keeping money circulating locally. If we really want to have a viable food and farm system that does not rely on government funding, we have to look at what specialty crop, small and mid-sized, and organic farmers are doing and learn from them. But ultimately, we must ensure that any future aid package does more than just put tape over a hole.”

With farm policy constantly in flux, Congress must work together to pass cohesive farm policy that actually levels the playing field for farmers instead of creating falsehoods.

Federally subsidized aid for farmers historically benefits the largest farms. While all farmers who need assistance should get assistance, OEFFA farmers “farm outside the box” and deserve a safety net that supports those using diversified production systems and on-farm conservation practices. Learn more about OEFFA’s envisioning of a farm safety net that works for all farmers here.

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