Trump announces $8B plan to provide relief for farmers

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH/Gray News) - President Donald Trump announced a new $8 billion program intended to provide temporary relief to farmers heavily impacted by rising fuel and production costs.

Trump made the announcement while speaking in Park City, Kansas, Monday. He was appearing at a rally in support of Sen. Roger Marshall, the Republican incumbent who’s in a tight race with Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton.

During his speech, Trump said the program, called the Harvest Fuel Relief program, is “in support to offset diesel costs during this harvest season.” In a news release, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it will make $8 billion available for one-time payments to farmers.

“This $8 billion investment will help bring certainty to our farmers during this harvest so they can continue to feed our nation,” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brook Rollins said in the department’s news release.

It would be the second such relief package for farmers in 11 months after a $12 billion aid package was announced last December.

Kansas farmers said it was a mix of welcome news, but frustrations remain and expectations are measured.

While the president said that the $8 billion relief package is coming, Matt Splitter, a Rice County farmer, said he’s more concerned with fair markets and trade policy.

“When an administration does some retaliatory actions to places or other countries where we do source a lot of our inputs, you know, fertilizer being one of them, then it does put some, for agriculturalists, for farmers, it puts some unfair tariffs on the products that we rely on to raise a crop,” Splitter said.

Splitter said the timing of another relief package for farmers fits, as fall harvest and planting is well underway.

“This is our peak season. This is where a lot of our diesel is burned in our machines,” Splitter said.

The timing of the announcement is also not lost when it comes to the midterm election, which is two weeks away.

The relief program for farmers is among the latest financial promises from President Trump. Last month, he pledged to send every American adult $5,000 if Republicans retain control of the House and the Senate in the midterm elections.

The president repeated the promise during Monday’s speech in Park City.

President Trump also pushed for year-round E15, which is a big desire for corn farmers.

“With Roger Marshall in the Senate, we will make year-round E-15 permanent. But if Adam Hamilton is in, I’m not doing it. That’s it. I’m only doing it for him,” Trump said on Monday.

Splitter said his farm is just six miles from an ethanol plant and doesn’t believe the issue should be dependent on who wins the Kansas Senate race.

“The people are voting for who they want, whether it be Marshall or Hamilton, whoever it may be. But then the administration would be retaliatory to what the people have voted for. So I just, I’m not a big fan of that kind of retaliatory actions,” Splitter said.

The Kansas Corn Growers Association said it appreciates the Trump administration’s efforts to address the challenges facing Kansas farmers.

It added that the Harvest Fuel Relief program will help ease the burden, which it says includes signing year-round E15 into law.