President Donald Trump announced an 8 billion dollar Harvest Fuel Relief program for American farmers on Monday night, a midterm season pledge aimed at offsetting surging diesel costs during this year’s harvest.
Speaking at a campaign rally at the Heartland Credit Union Arena in Park City, Kansas, Trump said the Department of Agriculture would launch the program to provide “our farmers with 8 billion in support to offset diesel costs during this harvest season”, according to reports. He credited Senator Roger Marshall, who faces a toss-up reelection fight, with pushing for the package.
How the money moves
The Agriculture Department said after the speech that it would make 8 billion available for one-time payments to American farmers “to provide relief during temporary market disruptions and increased input costs”, according to reports. Payments will be calculated with a uniform formula covering a portion of modeled losses during the 2026 crop year, based on Farm Service Agency reported planted acres, cost of production estimates and official yield and price data.
The program will be administered by the Farm Service Agency and authorized under the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act. Commodity-specific payment rates for major crops are scheduled for release in November, and farmers will not be required to carry crop insurance to participate, according to reports.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins called Trump “the most pro-farmer president of my lifetime”, saying the investment “will help bring certainty to our farmers during this harvest so they can continue to feed our nation”, according to reports.
Diesel, and the politics of it
Alongside the direct payments, Trump highlighted a recent executive order waiving the off-road requirement for red-dyed diesel, allowing farmers and truckers to buy the fuel tax-free, according to reports. He pointed to disruptions in global energy supply driven by attacks from Iran and its proxies as a driver of the cost pressure.
The announcement is the latest in a string of financial pledges aimed at voters before the November midterms, with control of Congress at stake and Republicans scrambling to hold support in farm states where rising costs have bitten.
