Arizona farmers who grow cotton, wheat, corn to benefit from federal aid package

PHOENIX – It’s too early to tell how much of President Donald Trump’s $12 billion farm aid package will eventually land in Arizona.

However, Arizona Farm Bureau CEO Philip Bashaw said farmers who grow eligible crops will receive funding as soon as February.

“And that will be based on the 2025 acreage for eligible crops. And those are for row crops, so in Arizona that will be crops like cotton, wheat and corn,” Bashaw told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News on Wednesday.

The White House said Monday that one-time payments totaling $11 billion will be delivered to row-crop farmers. Another $1 billion will be put aside for specialty crops.

Why is Arizona farm aid needed?

The aid is welcome as Arizona farmers struggle with rising costs and falling crop prices, Bashaw said.

“And some of that does have to do with international trade as we work through some of these trade deals with our foreign trading partners,” he said.

American farmers suffered a big blow when China quit buying American soybeans earlier this year after Trump imposed high tariffs.

However, Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed to start buying from the U.S. again after negotiations in October.

Arizona Farm Bureau seeks ‘fair markets’

The Arizona Farm Bureau and other farmer advocates have been working with federal lawmakers to improve the situation.

“What we’d like to see is strong markets that allow us to compete on an international scale. And if we have those fair markets, our farmers can compete with anybody worldwide,” Bashaw said.

He noted that some of the concerns were addressed earlier this year in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, while others will hopefully be dealt with in a pending farm bill.

“Now, we haven’t seen a fully passed farm bill yet. We’re still hopeful for that,” Bashaw said. “But a lot of those provisions that they changed in order to help the farm economy won’t kick in until next year, which is why these bridge payments are so critical for our farmers across the country.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Related

Walmart buys 38 acres along growing West Valley distribution corridorGerman semiconductor firm shutters Mesa plant, lays off workersThe 233 Suites hotel celebrates debut in downtown MesaNew Tempe restaurant Roman God of Fire aims to transport guests to ItalyAngie’s wants to recruit Salad and Go workers who lost their jobs after bankruptcy killed the chainGarage, Johnny Rockets opening this weekend at Chandler Fashion Center