At a campaign rally for Sen. Roger Marshall in Park City, Kansas, on October 19, 2026, Trump announced an $8 billion “Harvest Fuel Relief” program for farmers facing high diesel and fertilizer costs. The Agriculture Department said the one-time payments are authorized under the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act and will be run by the Farm Service Agency, with payment rates to be released in November. CNN noted the announcement came “just two weeks before midterm elections,” and that it is the second farm aid package in less than a year, after a $12 billion tariff-relief program in December.
Trump wrote on Truth Social, “When Republicans win, we will pass even more funding for our Great Farmers.” At the rally he said, “You know, I always heard that when you're president, you have a little bit of an advantage,” adding, “And I sort of see why now, actually,” the Wichita Eagle reported. The aid uses existing legal authority and responds to real costs from the Iran war's fuel price spike. The entry records its timing and the president tying more money to a Republican win, as with his $5,000 dividend promise (see Trump Promises Every Adult Citizen a $5,000 'Trump Dividend' if Republicans Keep the House and Senate) and the Kentucky drug plant (see Trump Tells a Kentucky Rally the Pentagon Will Invest $100 Million in a Drug Plant 'If the Republicans Win').
Update (October 21, 2026): at the same Kansas rally, Trump tied a separate pledge on year-round E15 ethanol to the Senate race: “But if Adam Hamilton is in, I'm not doing it,” he said of Marshall's Democratic opponent, adding, “I'm only doing it for him,” according to the Roll Call Factbase transcript.
Update (November 1, 2026): The Associated Press tallied the Agriculture Department's announcements in the last weeks before the midterms at more than $15 billion. That figure is AP's count across several initiatives, not one program: the $8 billion in one-time diesel payments, at least $5 billion in guaranteed loans for ranchers and fishermen, $1.8 billion in conservation payments, $573 million for fertilizer manufacturing, $57 million for meat processors and $86.6 million in specialty crop grants.
AP listed separately up to $472.5 million in commodity purchases announced October 29 and a $13.8 billion safety net plan for the 2025 crop year, which it says is besides the $15 billion. AP said it is not clear when the diesel payments will reach farmers. Diesel averaged $6.32 a gallon on October 30, 70% above a year earlier, according to AAA. AP attributed the higher costs farmers face largely to Trump's tariffs and the Iran war. Kansas State University's Gregg Ibendahl estimated the payments would “more than cover the increase in fuel costs.”