Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), the ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, led 11 of her colleagues in urging Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to speed up and expand payouts tied to federal disaster and economic assistance programs for farmers. In a letter sent to the Secretary, the senators emphasized the urgency of accelerating payments as producers across the country continue to face a combination of economic and environmental pressures.
They pointed to ongoing trade uncertainty, elevated input costs, and repeated natural disasters as compounding challenges that have strained farm finances. “As farmers face continued trade uncertainty, rising input costs, and natural disasters, we encourage you to speed up the economic disaster assistance that will benefit all farmers, including specialty crop growers,” the Senators wrote. Lawmakers argued that faster processing is critical to ensuring farmers can remain financially viable as they head into another production year.
The senators also raised concerns about the pace and scale of payments already distributed. “While significant assistance flowed quickly to farmers in the summer and fall, payments were limited to 35 percent of approved applications.” According to the letter, that limitation has slowed the overall delivery of aid and left many producers waiting long after losses occurred.
As a result, lawmakers noted that less than $6 billion of the $16 billion approved by Congress has been paid out, despite more than a year passing since the funding was authorized and nearly three years since some farmers initially experienced losses. The group urged USDA to take additional administrative steps to ensure remaining funds are distributed more quickly, arguing that timely assistance is essential for stabilizing farm operations and supporting rural economies.
