Gillibrand, Colleagues Urge USDA To Expedite Farmer Assistance

Gillibrand, Colleagues Urge USDA To Expedite Farmer Assistance

Jan 13, 2026

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) joined Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and nine of their Senate Democratic colleagues in pressing U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins to expedite and increase payouts, especially for specialty crop farmers, in disaster and economic assistance programs in the face of trade uncertainty, rising input costs, and natural disasters.

"Farmers across the country and in New York are facing soaring input costs, increasing uncertainty caused by this administration, and the growing impacts of natural disasters, and they cannot afford further delays in critical assistance," said Senator Gillibrand. "New York's farmers are the backbone of our Upstate economy, and I will continue pushing this administration to ensure farmers in New York and across the nation have the resources they need to thrive."

"As farmers face continued trade uncertainty, rising input costs, and natural disasters, we encourage you to expedite economic and disaster assistance that will benefit all farmers, including specialty crop growers," wrote the senators. "While significant assistance flowed quickly to farmers in the summer and fall, payments were limited to 35 percent of approved applications."

"As a result, less than $6 billion out of the $16 billion available has been paid out to farmers more than a year after Congress provided the funds and nearly three years after some farmers faced losses," the senators continued. "Farmers are talking to their lenders right now to make plans. Adjusting the factor and making additional top-up payments now will expedite assistance now when farmers need it most."

The senators also highlighted that of "the Farmer Bridge Assistance program of $12 billion, just $1 billion of that total is for specialty crops, sugarbeets, and other crops." The senators urged USDA to develop "a program that reflects the unique needs of specialty crop growers. We also encourage you to ensure this assistance truly meets the needs of all farmers."

Along with Gillibrand, Klobuchar and Slotkin, the letter was signed by Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Tina Smith (D-MN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD).

The full letter is available here and below.

Dear Secretary Rollins,

As farmers face continued trade uncertainty, rising input costs, and natural disasters, we encourage you to expedite economic and disaster assistance that will benefit all farmers, including specialty crop growers. Specialty crop growers face tight margins, limited risk-management tools, and increasingly volatile markets and need timely relief. We know that the U.S. Department of Agriculture has implemented funding included in the American Relief Act of 2025 for economic losses in 2024 and natural disaster losses in 2023 and 2024. We were encouraged that disaster assistance for losses in 2023 and 2024 announced last summer used a simplified pre-filled application for Stage 1 that topped-up indemnities paid under Federal Crop Insurance and the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program.

While significant assistance flowed quickly to farmers in the summer and fall, payments were limited to 35 percent of approved applications. As a result, less than $6 billion out of the $16 billion available has been paid out to farmers more than a year after Congress provided the funds and nearly three years after some farmers faced losses. It appears that nearly all Stage 1 applications have been submitted to USDA as payments on USDA's dashboard have leveled off in recent weeks.

We are concerned that the subsequent announcement of the second stage of disaster assistance extended the deadline for both stages through the end of April 2026 and would delay decisions to adjust the factor on payments until at least May. This timeline means that farmers will have to wait until late spring or summer for a major portion of the assistance. Farmers are talking to their lenders right now to make plans. Adjusting the factor and making additional top-up payments now will expedite assistance now when farmers need it most.

Additionally, with your recent announcement of the Farmer Bridge Assistance program of $12 billion, just $1 billion of that total is for specialty crops, sugarbeets, and other crops, even though specialty crop sectors have been hit hard by lost markets, rising input costs, labor shortages, and ongoing economic uncertainty. No further details have been released about how the $1 billion in aid will be structured, which likely means it will be well into 2026 before any payments are issued. As you develop this assistance, we strongly urge you to look at the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program Stage 2 and the Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops programs as guides for developing a program that reflects the unique needs of specialty crop growers. We also encourage you to ensure this assistance truly meets the needs of all farmers.

Thank you again for your work on implementation of this critical assistance and for due consideration of our suggestions to ensure all farmers are able to access aid quickly.

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