President Trump announced an $8 billion Harvest Fuel Relief program to offset record diesel prices crushing farmers this harvest, farm groups cheered while critics attacked the timing.
At a Monday night rally near Wichita, Kansas, President Trump said the Department of Agriculture will launch the new program to help producers cover diesel costs during harvest season. The pledge lands as U.S. diesel remains near historic highs and farm budgets tighten under rising production expenses.
Breitbart reported the president also praised Sen. Roger Marshall for pushing the relief and framed the aid as part of a broader commitment to rural America.
"Tonight I'm also pleased to announce that the Department of Agriculture will be launching a new Harvest Fuel Relief program, providing our farmers with $8 billion in support to offset diesel costs during this harvest season,"
Trump told the crowd. He added a direct political promise in the same appearance.
"When Republicans win, we will pass even more funding for our farmers. We love our farmers,"
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins backed the move in a statement that put the stakes in plain terms for a national food supply that still runs on diesel.
"This $8 billion investment will help bring certainty to our farmers during this harvest so they can continue to feed our nation,"
Rollins said. In a separate message, she stressed that farmers carry a way of life built on faith, family, hard work, and freedom, and that USDA under Trump will keep their backs.
CBS News reported that U.S. diesel hit a record $6.53 a gallon on Sept. 22 and still averaged about $6.32 a gallon afterward. A year earlier the average sat at $3.62, according to AAA figures cited in that reporting.
Those numbers are not abstract for anyone running combines, grain trucks, or irrigation pumps. USDA’s September forecast estimated net farm income will fall 2.6% this year while overall production costs rise 4.5%. Fuel and oil expenses alone are projected to jump nearly 30%.
The New York Post noted diesel prices have climbed roughly 75% over the past year amid disruptions tied to the war with Iran and related oil-supply pressure. That is the cost shock the new program is built to blunt.
Farm groups answered quickly. The American Farm Bureau Federation said farmers and ranchers welcome the $8 billion in relief through Harvest Fuel Relief to help producers struggling with high diesel prices.
USDA describes Harvest Fuel Relief as payments that cover part of estimated losses for the 2026 crop year. The formula will use planted acreage reported to the Farm Service Agency, estimated production costs, and crop yields and prices drawn from the department’s World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report.
Payment rates for major commodity crops are due in November, with details for other eligible products to follow. Farmers will not need crop insurance to qualify. USDA says producers can prepare by creating a Login.gov account linked to the department.
The fuel package sits alongside earlier steps. In December the administration announced a $12 billion aid package for farmers; that prior payout reached more than 560,000 producers affected by trade disputes. Earlier this month Trump also signed an executive order easing limits on tax-free use of red-dyed diesel, a move aimed at lowering costs for farmers and truckers.
Taken together, the sequence shows an administration stacking cash relief and regulatory relief while diesel stays elevated and harvest work cannot wait.
Not everyone framed the announcement as good news. Gbenga Ajilore, chief economist at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and a former USDA rural-development adviser, said in an email that farmers would gain more from an end to the war with Iran, which would likely pull energy prices down, and from ending the administration’s tariffs.
"The president's economic aid to farmers ahead of the midterm elections follows a pattern dating back to his first term: He imposes policies that harm farmers, then spends taxpayer money to offset the damage his policies create,"
Ajilore said.
That critique treats emergency aid as the problem instead of the price spike at the pump. Diesel near $6.50 does not pause for a midterm calendar. Combines still roll. Trucks still haul grain. Irrigators still burn fuel. When fuel and oil costs are forecast to jump nearly 30% in a single year, producers need cash-flow help in the season they are working, not a seminar on who started which dispute.
Trump’s Kansas message put the priority on the people who grow the food. Rollins put it on certainty so the harvest can finish and the country can keep eating. Farm Bureau put it on immediate relief for operations already absorbing the hit.
The program’s mechanics are concrete: acreage already reported to the Farm Service Agency, published USDA yield and price data, November rate announcements, no insurance mandate, and a clear prep step through Login.gov. That is a delivery system, not a press release.
Record diesel prices do not care about talking points. Farmers still have to finish harvest. The administration just put $8 billion on the table so they can.
