The Trump Administration on October 19 announced $8 billion dollars in one-time payments to help farmers navigate fuel costs as diesel prices reach record highs, but limited information about eligibility, payments and rollout leaves local farmers in the dark about how the program will work.
The price of diesel jumped after the United States entered the war with Iran and now hovers around $6 dollars a gallon, double the price this time last year.
Some farmers, like Walter Schweitzer with the Montana Farmers Union, say the program announcement comes off as a bid for voter support when farmers are also coping with tariffs, poor commodity markets and a high cost for fertilizer. Other farmers are cautiously optimistic, like Montana Grain Growers Association president Steve Sheffels.
He said farmers are seeing high production costs and suffering markets, and they’re thankful for any help they can get.
“We had a little price bump that happened around harvest in winter wheat, which was extremely helpful, but generally, the prices for the commodities that we grow in Montana does not support the cost it takes to grow them,” said Sheffels.
Funding for the Harvest Fuel Relief Program comes from the Commodity Credit Corporation, which allows the USDA to use the borrowing authority of the U.S. Treasury for agricultural emergencies.
YPR reached out to Montana’s congressional delegation and heard back from a spokesperson with Representative Troy Downing, who says the congressman welcomes the funding and that the USDA should work to get the payments out quickly.
According to the USDA, more information about the program will be released sometime in November.
