USDA asks fishermen for fuel cost data for $8 billion relief program, sets no payment

The U.S. Department of Agriculture invited fishermen Monday to send fuel cost data for its new $8 billion Harvest Fuel Relief program, but it has not said how, or how much, they would be paid.

President Donald Trump and Agriculture Secretary Brooke L. Rollins announced the program Oct. 19. It makes $8 billion available for one-time payments to farmers this harvest season "to provide relief during temporary market disruptions and increased input costs." Payments follow a uniform formula covering part of modeled losses in the 2026 crop year.

Payment rates for Title I commodities, the major farm crops such as corn, soybeans and wheat, will come in November, according to the USDA release. The method for other eligible commodities "will be announced at a later date."

The release names fishermen among "producers of non-Title I commodities" and asks them to email fuel cost data to [email protected] "for USDA's consideration when determining payment rates." It urges producers to set up Login.gov accounts before an application period is announced. It gives no application period or deadline.

Sen. Dan Sullivan's office announced from Fairbanks on Tuesday that Alaska fishermen are eligible. "Like America's farmers, America's fishermen have been strained by rising diesel prices and disruptions in global energy markets," Sullivan said in the release.

Sullivan's release says USDA wants "reliable on-vessel fuel consumption data as soon as possible" and that its payment method "will be heavily dependent upon the availability of data." USDA's own release does not say that.

Fishermen were left out of an earlier USDA package. In July, Alaska News reported that a disaster package of about $11 billion for crop producers had nothing for Alaska fishermen. When Sen. Lisa Murkowski pressed Rollins on it, Rollins said, "It's time for USDA to recognize our fishermen as part of our farmers of the sea."

Sullivan, a Republican, faces Democrat Mary Peltola, Republican Gerald Heikes and Daniel J. Sullivan Jr., who has no party, in the Nov. 3 U.S. Senate election.