Senator John Hoeven speaks at the 2025 NDFU Convention in Bismarck.
BISMARCK, N.D. – At the North Dakota Farmers Union annual convention today, Senator John Hoeven discussed efforts to open new markets and secure better trade deals for farmers and ranchers in the long-term, as well as help producers weather current challenges, including high input costs, market uncertainty and low prices. To this end, Hoeven outlined:
- Securing the heart and soul of the Farm Bill, including farm safety net enhancements, in the One Big Beautiful Bill (OB3). This includes:
- Provisions from Hoeven’s FARMER Act to strengthen crop insurance and make higher levels of coverage more affordable for producers.
- Increasing reference prices under Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) by 10% to 20%, with built-in future increases.
- Passing an extension of the remaining Farm Bill programs as part of a deal to end the government shutdown.
- As chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee, Hoeven helped negotiate the inclusion of the Farm Bill extension and Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Agriculture Appropriations bill in the government funding package passed in November.
- The $12 billion in agriculture assistance he helped announce with President Trump and Agriculture Secretary Rollins at the White House on Monday.
- Hoeven has been working to advance the assistance, which will serve as a bridge for producers until the OB3 enhancements come into full effect.
- The Farmer Bridge Assistance program will be administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), with assistance expected to be distributed by the end of February 2026.
- China’s agreement to purchase 12 million tons of U.S. soybeans during the current crop season and 25 million tons in subsequent crop years.
- Progress on securing improved trade terms, including with nations in southeast Asia.
- Last month, Bangladesh committed to purchase $1.25 billion worth of U.S. soybeans over the next 12 months, a historic improvement in market access to the country for American farmers.
- In addition, the Trump administration secured the near-elimination of tariffs on U.S. goods exported to Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, benefitting commodities such as soybeans, corn, sorghum, meat, poultry and dairy.
“Farmers in North Dakota and across the nation are being squeezed by high input costs, low commodity prices and ongoing market uncertainty. That’s why we’ve worked to not only enhance the farm safety net, but provide assistance in the short-term to serve as a bridge until the measures we secured in OB3 are fully implemented,” said Hoeven. “At the same time, producers ultimately want markets. Accordingly, we’ve been working with the administration, including U.S. Trade Representative Greer and Treasury Secretary Bessent, to push for additional ag sales, like the soybean purchase agreement with China, and better trade deals in the long-term. We’re seeing good progress on that front, and we will continue working to remove barriers to market access for U.S. farmers and ranchers.”
