WASHINGTON, DC – Yesterday, President Trump and Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced the Harvest Fuel Relief (HFR) Program, which will provide a one-time payment to farmers who have experienced increased fuel costs this year. These payments will complement recent actions taken by the Administration to provide emergency tax relief on diesel fuel.
The HFR program will provide up to $8 billion in assistance from the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Charter Act and will be administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). In addition to Title I commodities, USDA indicated seafood, specialty crops, sugar, and others may be eligible. FSA is expected to publish commodity-specific payment rates for row crops, like rice, in November.
“The rice industry is extremely grateful for the Harvest Fuel Relief Program, which will provide much-needed assistance to America’s rice farmers who have been grappling with the increased fuel prices since they began planting this spring,” said USA Rice President and CEO Peter Bachmann. “The rice industry continues to face mounting pressure from a barrage of foreign rice imports and sky-high operating costs across the board, and this timely relief will help as we continue to work with Congress and the Trump Administration on policy initiatives that allow rural America and our rice-centric communities to remain viable.”
USA Rice will continue to provide the industry with updates on the HFR and other legislative ad hoc initiatives as they become available.
Additional HFR program details can be found online here.