LUBBOCK, TX – U.S. farmers remain financially strained despite multiple rounds of federal support, according to analysis from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension economists at the Agricultural and Food Policy Center led by Dr. Bart Fischer.
Producers of corn, soybeans, and wheat accumulated roughly $300 per acre in losses from 2023 through 2025, while cotton losses approached $1,000 per acre. Programs, including ARC and PLC, offered limited help early in the downturn because reference prices were unchanged from the 2018 Farm Bill, though larger payments tied to the 2025 crop will not arrive until October 2026. Congress also approved $10 billion through the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program for 2024 losses and an additional $11 billion Farmer Bridge Assistance program for 2025.
Even with that support, economists estimate that government aid covered only about 35% of cotton and soybean losses and roughly 45% of corn and wheat losses.
Producers therefore absorbed more than half of the financial damage while facing another year of negative margins.
Farm-Level Takeaway: Federal aid helps, but most losses remain producer-borne.