By Clint Thompson
The announcement this week made by U.S. Ag Secretary Brooke L. Rollins regarding the Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) Program focused on the the eligible commodity per-acre payment rates. As announced in early December, $12 billion in the program will be paid to American producers in 2026, of which $11 billion divvied out to eligible row crop producers. This includes Georgia cotton growers.
Taylor Sills, executive director of the Georgia Cotton Commission, discussed the impact of the announcement that includes the announced payment rate for cotton as $117.35.
“We know that this only touches the loss that producers faced in 2025. It’s a bridge. That’s the entire intent of it,” Sills said. “I’m very appreciative of our industry organization for methodically telling our industry’s story, expressing the need and going through with USDA the numbers that explained the loss of how things worked.
“We’re very appreciative of this program.”
Producers who qualify for FBA assistance can expect the Farm Service Agency (FSA) to start issuing payments on Feb. 28.
For additional information, FBA is available online at https://www.fsa.usda.gov/fba or you can contact your local USDA FSA county office.