Crawford introduces bill to help Arkansas farmers bridge federal Aid gap

U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford is leading a new effort in Congress to give Arkansas farmers short-term relief as they face another year of high costs and tight margins before major federal farm safety-net updates take effect.

Crawford, who represents much of northeast and eastern Arkansas, joined Louisiana Congresswoman Julia Letlow in introducing the Bridge the Gap for Rural Communities Act (H.R. 5710). The bill would suspend payment limits on the Price Loss Coverage (PLC) and Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) programs for the 2025 crop year and give producers the option to receive a 50 percent partial payment by Dec. 1, rather than waiting until October 2026.

“Sadly, we have already lost farmers, and without action, we are on the precipice of losing many more,” Crawford said. “This bill will give farmers and agriculture lenders breathing room as they work through operating loans for next season.”

Letlow said the measure would provide more flexibility for producers across the Delta who are dealing with mounting expenses and tighter credit.

According to USDA data, farm input costs have climbed sharply since 2020 — with fertilizer up 37 percent, fuel and oil up 32 percent, and interest costs up 73 percent. Commodity prices, however, have not kept pace. Analysts project significant per-acre losses next year, including $169 for corn, $154 for rice, and $379 for cotton — three of Arkansas’s top row crops.

The Bridge the Gap bill is designed to cover farmers until provisions in the Working Families Tax Cut Act take effect in late 2026. That law raises reference prices and strengthens both the PLC and ARC programs, but the benefits won’t reach producers for nearly two more years.

Crawford said the stopgap measure won’t fix the farm economy but could help keep more family farms operating through the current downturn.