In addition to a farm bill extension through Sept. 30, 2025, the American Relief Act of 2025 recently passed by Congress contains $9.8 billion in market relief payments for 20 covered crops. According to analysis by the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI), the top 10 states based on estimated total payments for corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, sorghum, rice, barely, oats and peanuts are:
- Texas: $963 million, primarily because of its status as the largest cotton producer
- Iowa: $846 million, with strong support for corn and soybean farmers
- Illinois: $790 million
- Kansas: $787 million
- Nebraska: $625 million
- Minnesota: $616 million
- North Dakota: $597 million
- South Dakota: $497 million
- Indiana: $400 million
- Missouri: $391 million
Corn, soybeans and wheat are expected to make up 80% of the total estimated payments, or about $7.9 billion. That number increases to 98% of, or about $9.7 billion, when including cotton, rice, sorghum, barley, oats and peanuts.
National crop distribution is projected to be the following:
- Corn: $3.829 billion
- Soybeans: $2.553 billion
- Wheat: $1.532 billion
- Cotton: $975 million
- Sorghum: $248 million
- Rice: $216 million
Total Projected Economic Assistance by County for Top 9 Crops
Per-acre payment rates by crop:
- Cotton: $87.26 (highest rate)
- Corn: $42.51
- Soybeans: $29.50
- Wheat: $30.69
- Sorghum: $42.58
- Oats: $77.66
- Peanuts: $76.30
- Rice: $69.52
- Barley: $21.76
To help farmers estimate potential payments, FAPRI and the Rural and Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center developed two excel-based tools. You can find the calculators on page 3 of this document.
Recent legislation also provides support measures for the following:
- $21 billion for natural disaster recovery, covering losses from droughts, wildfires, hurricanes and floods in 2023–2024.
- $2 billion for livestock producers affected by adverse weather.
USDA must distribute the funds within 90 days of the bill becoming law to provide timely relief.
Hear more on the economic aid and what it means for farmers from farm CPA Paul Neiffer.
