By: David F. Mills

The farm industry has been in recession since at least 2022 as a result of persistently depressed crop prices and elevated production costs. The burden on American farmers was made worse due to the lack of a new farm bill, which is two years overdue.

In an attempt to provide some assistance, Congress passed, and the President signed, the American Relief Act of 2025 on December 21, 2024.  The ARA extends the current 2018 Farm Bill through September 30, 2025.  In addition, it provides almost $10 billion of direct monetary  payments to farmers.  The payments are designed to provide relief for economic losses arising from certain covered crops, including those widely grown in NC such as soybeans, corn, cotton, wheat, and peanuts.  The amount of the payments will be based on a formula that determines the difference between gross return for the crop per acre and the expected cost of production per acre, multiplied by the number of acres a farmer tended in 2024.

The USDA is required to make the payments to growers within 90 days of the enactment of the law, so the payment must go out around March 20 at the latest.  We certainly hope that the payments will go out sooner, for two reasons.  First, farmers need the funds now, when preparations for the new crop year are underway.  Second, the government is only funded through March 14; we wonder how a government shutdown might affect distributions under the ARA.

The ARA is welcome news to North Carolina farmers.  Let’s hope it isn’t too little, too late.