Reps. Crawford, Letlow Introduce Legislation to Bridge the Gap by Providing More Immediate Relief for U.S. Farmers

JONESBORO, A.R. – Congressman Rick Crawford (AR-01) and Congresswoman Julia Letlow (LA-05) introduced the Bridge the Gap for Rural Communities Act (H.R. 5710). This legislation helps farmers bridge the safety net gap until the updated farm provisions in the Working Families Tax Cut Act take full effect next year. The legislation suspends the payment limitation for the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program and the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) program for the 2025 crop year and provides farmers the option to elect by December 1 if they want a 50% partial payment by the end of the year instead of waiting until October 2026.

“Sadly, we have already lost farmers, and without action we are on the precipice of losing many more,” said Rep. Crawford. “This bill is not a silver bullet, but it will give farmers and agriculture lenders breathing room as they work through operating loans for next season. Anything we can do to keep farmers in the field for at least one more year to bridge the gap to the full benefits of the Working Families Tax Cut Act must be done. I appreciate Rep. Letlow co-leading this effort with me as we champion the needs of farmers in Washington.”

“Our commodity producers need more timely support at a time of increasing pressure on the farm economy,” said Rep. Letlow. “Our bill will provide much needed flexibility to Louisiana growers, easing cash flow concerns and putting them in a stronger position for the next planting season.”

Farmers and rural communities are at a crisis point. Years of high input costs and low commodity prices continue to punish the farm economy. According to the USDA, between 2020 and today, seed expenses have increased 18%, fuel and oil expenses increased 32%, fertilizer expenses increased 37%, labor costs increased 47%, and interest expenses increased by a staggering 73%. Sadly, commodity prices have not kept pace. In 2025, major row crops are expected to suffer substantial losses including projections of per acre losses of $114.15 for soybeans, $111.64 for wheat, $169.31 for corn, $154.53 for rice, $379.00 for cotton, $159.95 for sorghum, and $173.39 for peanuts.

The Working Families Tax Cut Act made substantial investments to modernize the farm safety net. This law updates statutory reference prices in PLC for all covered commodities ranging from 10% – 21%. This includes an increase of 19% for soybeans, 15% for wheat, 11% for corn, 21% for rice, 19% for lentils, 14% for seed-cotton, 11% for sorghum and 18% for peanuts. The law also increases the effective reference price escalator from 85% of the olympic average to 88% and beginning in 2031 automatically adjusts the statutory references prices annually by 0.5% to a maximum of 113% of the original numbers. Additionally, the ARC program saw a boost with the revenue guarantee increased from 86% to 90% and the maximum payment going up from 10% to 12% of benchmark revenue.

Unfortunately, these historic investments do not kick in until October 2026 leaving a safety net gap at a time when farmers need help the most. That is where the Bridge the Gap for Rural Communities Act comes in. While this legislation will not fix the farm economy it stands alongside other efforts, including the push for emergency relief payments by Chairman Thompson, Chairman Boozman, and President Trump, to give farmers some space to make it to the next year and save some on interest expense. It also allows agriculture lenders who have unfortunately had to carry over farm loans from year-to-year an opportunity to put something more concrete on their balance sheet as they look at what to do for next season’s operating loans.

Read the bill text here.