ARLINGTON, VA – Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the payment rate for rice and other eligible commodities under the Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) Program.
On December 8, President Trump and Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the FBA program, which includes $11 billion for row crop farmers. Farmers had until Friday, December 19, to ensure their 2025 acreage reporting is factual and accurate, at which point USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) was able to finalize the commodity-specific payment rates.
For rice, the payment rate is $132.89 per acre, which encompasses long grain and medium grain, including temperate japonica, short grain, and sweet rice. USDA is expected to send producers a pre-filled application, which individuals should review and submit to their local FSA office or online. The FSA hopes to make payments to eligible farmers by February 28, 2026.
“We appreciate Secretary Rollins and the USDA for this much needed news. The downpayment of $132.89 per acre provides hope that Washington understands how challenging rice farming is right now in the United States,” said Fred Zaunbrecher, Louisiana rice farmer and chair of the USA Rice Farmers Board. “However, more help is needed in this farm economy. According to recent estimates, rice farmers are projected to lose, on average, $364 per acre in 2025, the second highest of the FBA-covered commodities. It is imperative that when lawmakers return in the New Year, they work with USDA to provide an additional layer of economic support to ensure farmers can put a crop in the ground and realize the improvements made to ARC and PLC, which will come into effect in the fall of 2026.”
Additional FBA details can be found online here.