By Leah Douglas
WASHINGTON, June 24 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday asked Congress to approve more than $11 billion in additional aid for farmers facing high fuel and fertilizer costs since the Iran war, according to a White House supplemental funding request reviewed by Reuters.
The new funding would add to $12 billion in aid the administration has already disbursed to farmers this year, as the industry sags under high production costs and low crop prices, made worse by Trump’s current trade policies and the war with Iran.
Farm and industry groups have said that money was key to helping farmers prepare for spring planting, but insufficient to make them whole.
Fuel and fertilizer prices have jumped this spring due to shipping disruptions from the Middle East, though flows have improved since Washington and Tehran hashed out an initial plan earlier this month to end the conflict.
Farmers are a loyal voting bloc for Trump, whose Republican Party will defend slim majorities in Congress in November’s midterms.
Trump’s approval rating among rural Americans fell in June to a new low of 50%, down from 60% in February 2025, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling.
According to the funding request signed by Russ Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, $10 billion of the new aid would be allocated to row and specialty crop farmers for crops planted in 2026.
The remaining $1.1 billion would be allocated to Florida farmers affected by winter storms in late 2025 and early 2026.
If the White House request is approved, the administration would be forecast to send about $55.4 billion in direct payments to farmers this year, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture data.
That would comprise roughly 33% of total farm income in 2026, the highest level in direct payments since 2001, according to Wesley Davis, a partner at Meridian Agribusiness Advisors, an agricultural economics consultancy.
(Reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington; additional reporting by P.J. Huffstutter in Chicago and Jarrett Renshaw; Editing by Sonali Paul)
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