Diesel above $6 a gallon as farmers work through harvest
President Trump announced an $8 billion Agriculture Department program Monday at a campaign rally in Kansas for Sen. Roger Marshall, a Republican locked in a competitive race with two weeks remaining before the midterm elections, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The Harvest Fuel Relief program will provide direct payments to U.S. farmers to offset losses tied to rising fuel and other input costs as harvest gets underway. Before the new program was created, the Agriculture Department estimated that direct payments to farmers would reach $44 billion this year, the Journal reported.
Farmers are absorbing diesel prices above $6 a gallon this year, along with higher fertilizer costs and a recent drop in corn futures prices that are expected to weigh on profitability, the Journal reported. Farmers rely on diesel for combines, tractors and other equipment central to harvesting their crops. Fuel costs have risen during the U.S. war in Iran, the Journal noted.
Trump unveiled the program at a rally supporting Marshall, whose race political rating sites have called a tossup against his Democratic challenger. Republicans, who have typically relied on rural voters as a loyal voting bloc, are facing competitive contests in agricultural states including Iowa and Kansas, with some farmers souring on parts of Trump’s policy record, the Journal reported.
“And when the Republicans win, we will pass even more funding for our farmers,” Trump said at the rally. “We love our farmers.”
The administration also used the rally to highlight other efforts to support farmers, including increasing the amount of biofuel derived from crops that must be blended into gasoline and diesel.
Government funding has played a growing role in boosting farmer incomes over the past decade, the Journal reported, running from trade-war-related payouts during Trump’s first and second terms, rescue funding during the Covid-19 pandemic and more recent checks written to offset low crop prices.