Arkansas to receive $286M in American Relief Act aid
Six million of the state’s acres were determined to be eligible for economic assistance. Soybeans comprised more than half of that acreage — 51 percent. Rice covered 26 percent, cotton, 11 percent and corn 10 percent. The remaining acreage was in oats, peanuts, grain sorghum and winter wheat.
By Mary Hightower
U of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture
Feb. 5, 2025
Fast facts
- Soybeans accounted for largest portion of eligible Arkansas acres
- Find the study analysis
- Mississippi County had largest number of eligible acres
(418 words)
(Newsrooms: with file art of Biram, digital graphic)
COLUMBIA, Mo. — Arkansas agriculture 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 eight commodities: 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. Soybeans comprised more than half of that acreage — 51 percent. Rice covered 26 percent, cotton, 11 percent and corn 10 percent. 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 accounting for 37 percent, 31 percent, 20 percent, 9 percent, and 1 percent, respectively, of the $286.2 million in total assistance. Wheat, sorghum, and oats, account for 2 percent of total assistance.
The dollar total for rice was approximately $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 top five counties receiving assistance are Mississippi, Craighead, Poinsett, Phillips and Clay counties,” Biram said.
Mississippi County received 8 percent of the aid, or about $23.1 million; Craighead and neighboring Poinsett County each received 6 percent and Phillips and Clay counties each received 5 percent.
Mississippi had the largest number of eligible acres at 463,850. Ouachita County had the fewest acres — 5 — all of which were in corn.
Biram notes that “these payments are not directly a function of weather and are based on current plantings relative to historical price and production data.”
The Rural and Farm Finance Policy Analysis Center is based at the University of Missouri. The policy brief was written by Alejandro Plastina of RaFF; Biram; Ryan Loy, extension economist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture; and Marc Rosenbohm of the Food and Agricultural Research Institute, University of Missouri.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on X and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: https://aaes.uada.edu. Follow on X at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on X at @AgInArk.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on three campuses.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs to all eligible persons without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
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Media contact: Mary Hightower
mhightower@uada.edu