Nearly 40% of the $11 billion taxpayer-funded farm bailout meant to offset the effects of the Trump administration tariffs, known as bridge payments, will likely flow to the largest farms.
An EWG analysis found that farms growing more than 1,000 acres of commodity crops would take in the large percent of the bailout, the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program.
This latest bailout, unveiled in December, reinforces the longstanding pattern of federal farm aid disproportionately benefiting the biggest, most profitable farm operations in the country. This will increase costs in the agricultural sector and further add to the decline of small farms, consolidating farming in corporate mega farms.
Payments flow to largest farms
The imbalance is especially stark for corn and soybean farm operations.
Farms growing more than 1,000 acres of corn make up just 6.3% of farms growing corn. But EWG projects they will collect 39.9% of all corn payments.
Soybean payments show a similar imbalance: Farms growing more than 1,000 acres of soybeans account for just 7.6% of soybean farms but will collect 42.5% of all soybean payments.
Even bigger soybean farms – those with more than 2,000 acres, or 1.8% of soybean farms – will receive nearly one-fifth of all soybean payments.
Tied to production
Bridge payments are tied to production of certain commodity crops on farmed acres, so the largest farms collect the biggest payments – whether they need it or not. Recent changes to farm subsidy rules could allow large farm partnerships to collect even more funding.
Farms growing these crops on fewer than 1,000 acres will receive smaller payments.
It’s not just corn and soybeans: With other crops, too, larger amounts of aid go to the biggest farms.
| Crop | Percent farms with 1,000 or more acres | Percent of bridge payments likely to go to farms of 1,000 or more acres | Payments likely to go to farms with 1,000 or more acres (in millions) |
| Barley | 5.3% | 38.2% | $17.4 |
| Canola | 13.8% | 40.6% | $22.4 |
| Chickpeas | 11.1% | 36.1% | $5.9 |
| Corn | 6.3% | 39.9% | $1,723 |
| Cotton | 17.1% | 59.1% | $633 |
| Flaxseed | 5.8% | 25.3% | $516 |
| Oats | 0.3% | 5.9% | $10 |
| Peanuts | 4.0% | 24.4% | $26.4 |
| Peas | 8.4% | 34.4% | $9.75 |
| Rice | 19.8% | 54.8% | $204.5 |
| Safflower | 6.9% | 43.0% | $1.25 |
| Sorghum | 8.0% | 43.5% | $129 |
| Soybeans | 7.6% | 42.5% | $1,054 |
| Wheat | 10.6% | 56.1% | $1,079 |
Source: EWG from USDA 2022 Census of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency December 2025 Crop Acreage Data, USDA Farmer Bridge Assistance Program
Fueling consolidation
Trump’s tariffs have closed markets to U.S. farmers and raised the cost of essential farm machinery and supplies, including equipment, seeds and chemicals.
Farm household income is expected to increase in 2026, largely boosted by federal government payments. But as farm production costs rise, many small farms are struggling.
Increasing payments to the largest farms will add pressure to small farms. The higher payments will further raise the cost of the supplies needed to run a farm, as well the cost of buying and renting farmland.
In 2025, 15,000 farms went out of business. Most were small farms.
Disparities in bridge payments are similar to those following past Trump bailouts. Under the Market Facilitation Program, created to offset the impacts of tariffs during the first Trump administration’s trade war, the largest 5% of farms received 41% of all payments.
Experts later found that many farms got far more than they needed to offset the effects of the trade war. They also determined that 2,000 high income farms received more than $160 million – 20 of those farms each received more than $2 million.
Next week the House Agriculture Committee will debate the farm bill – it probably won’t do much to help small farms. The bill will likely continue the status quo and does not include subsidy limits that would level the playing field between large and small farms.
Methodology
EWG analyzed:
- Data from the 2022 agricultural census on the distribution of farms by acreage category
- The USDA’s bridge assistance reported payment rates
- Reported 2025 crop acreage data from the USDA’s Farm Service Agency
Calculated percentages of the agricultural census’ reported numbers of farms and acres by size category were determined. These percentages by size category were applied to the 2025 reported planted acres. This provides an approximate distribution of 2025 planted acres by size.
We then multiplied the number of acres in each size category by the payment rates set by the Farm Bridge Assistance Program. That gave us the total amount of assistance that would be received by farms in each size category and what share of the total payments those categories would take in.
The 2022 agricultural census data on the percentage of that number of farms by size category was used in the comparison to projected payments made based on 2025 acres.
The analysis did not include payments for insured crops that were never planted, because of the interference of an insured weather event, known as “prevented planted acres”. Those payments will not be included in the program.
