Hoeven Outlines Efforts to Secure Additional Farm Assistance, Improve Domestic Demand & Foreign Market Access

Hoeven Outlines Efforts to Secure Additional Farm Assistance, Improve Domestic Demand & Foreign Market Access

Senator Introduces North Dakota Farmers Union President at Senate Agriculture Committee Hearing

WASHINGTON - Senator John Hoeven this week introduced North Dakota Farmers Union President Matt Perdue at a hearing of the Senate Agriculture Committee, where the senator outlined priorities he is advancing to support farmers and ranchers through this difficult stretch and expand market opportunities for U.S. agricultural products. To this end, Hoeven discussed with Perdue and the other hearing witnesses his efforts to:

• Secure additional farm assistance, building upon the $12 billion Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) program.
  • Hoeven is working with Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman John Boozman (R-AR) to:
    • Expand FBA to cover a greater share of producer losses.
    • Include acres that were prevented from being planted as eligible under FBA.
    • Expand support for specialty crops and sugar producers.
    • Increase farm ownership and operating loan limits.
  • Hoeven stressed that this additional assistance would help ease financial struggles in farm country until the enhancements to crop insurance and ARC/PLC that he worked to secure in the One Big Beautiful Bill come into effect later this year.
• Expand domestic demand for American agriculture producers' goods, including by:
  • Passing legislation allowing the year-round, nationwide sale of E15.
  • Supporting value-added agriculture, such as the soybean crushing facilities that were built in North Dakota in recent years.
• Work with the Trump administration, including U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, on securing better trade terms and additional agriculture sales.
• Increase domestic energy production to reduce input costs for farmers, like he is working to do through his Crack the Code 2.0 initiative.

"We secured critical improvements to crop insurance affordability and ARC and PLC reference prices in the One Big Beautiful Bill, but those provisions don't fully kick in until October. So we're working to provide additional assistance to get our farmers through this stretch," said Hoeven. "At the same time, we're working to increase demand both domestically and internationally. That's why we're working to pass year-round E15, which will provide a boost here at home, and we continue to support the Trump administration as it works to secure both better trade terms and agriculture sales.

"North Dakota's producers have tremendous insights to share on these issues, and I appreciate North Dakota Farmers Union President Matt Perdue for joining us in this discussion. His advocacy is particularly important as our farmers and ranchers are facing this difficult time."

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