Farmers to receive $286 million through American Relief Act
by February 5, 2025 2:23 pm 3,793 views

Farmers in Arkansas will receive $286.2 million in assistance from the American Relief Act, with Mississippi County being the top recipient, according to an analysis by the Rural & Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center.
The American Relief Act was the continuing resolution passed in December to keep the federal government open through March 14. It also extended the 2018 Farm Bill through September 2025. In total, it provides $10 billion in economic assistance to crop farmers growing barley, corn, cotton, oats, peanuts, rice, sorghum, soybeans, and wheat.
Six million of the state’s acres were determined to be eligible for economic assistance. About 51% of the state’s soybean acres were eligible, while rice was at 26%. Cotton, (11%) and corn (10%) were the primary ag acres covered. The remaining acreage was in oats, peanuts, grain sorghum, and winter wheat.
The economic loss from each crop is determined as the difference between the 2024 expected cost of production per acre published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service and the 2024 expected gross return per acre.
Hunter Biram, extension economist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, said the top five crops receiving assistance in Arkansas are rice, soybeans, cotton, corn, and peanuts.
The dollar total for rice was $106.6 million, $89.8 million for soybeans, $56.3 million for cotton, $25.8 million for corn, $3.32 million for peanuts, $3.29 million for wheat, $650,200 for sorghum and $394,900 for oats, the analysis found.
“The top five counties receiving assistance are Mississippi, Craighead, Poinsett, Phillips, and Clay counties,” Biram said.
Mississippi County had more than 463,850 acres that are eligible for assistance, according to the report. Crittenden (323,750), Craighead (291,920), Jackson (268,882), and Clay (258,677) counties had the other highest eligible acres in Northeast Arkansas, the analysis found.
Mississippi County received 8% of the aid, or about $23.1 million. Craighead and neighboring Poinsett County each received 6%, while Phillips and Clay counties each received 5%.
Biram noted that “these payments are not directly a function of weather and are based on current plantings relative to historical price and production data.”