Farm organizations have appealed to the administration to propose a new round of assistance for agricultural producers as part of a defense supplemental request for funding the conflict with Iran. The Pentagon is seeking $200 billion in supplemental funding for the war effort. Chairman Boozman stated that inclusion of farm aid is a “natural fit” for the supplemental bill, noting the harm the conflict is causing farmers through disrupted supply chains that have driven up the cost of fertilizer and fuel.
In a letter to the White House, farm groups noted that the conflict followed weather-related problems that hit specialty crops and other sectors. “The closure of the Strait of Hormuz sent fuel and fertilizer prices skyrocketing—further straining a farm economy already pushed to the limit by inflation, trade uncertainty, declining crop prices, and catastrophic natural disasters,” the letter says.
While the letter does not specify an exact figure, lawmakers have discussed $15 billion in new farm aid to supplement the $12 billion Farmer Bridge Assistance Program funded through the USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation. The groups urged the administration to include market relief for America’s farmers in the upcoming defense package. Signatories represent a wide range of commodities, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, and the National Farmers Union.