Speaking to the Financial Times, Secretary Rollins confirmed that the administration is evaluating markets daily and may soon announce a package aimed at stabilizing farm incomes amid plummeting export sales and soaring input costs. She emphasized that using "tariff income now coming into America" to backstop the aid effort is "absolutely a potential."

The statement comes as pressure mounts from farm groups and lawmakers following China's recent pullback from U.S. soybean purchases. Tariffs on fertilizer, machinery, and imported ag inputs have further inflated production costs, worsening an already volatile environment for producers.

Yet the legal pathway to using tariff revenue directly remains uncertain. House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson initially backed the idea but later acknowledged it may not be feasible under current statutes. "We're just looking at the statutes surrounding it, and it's just hard to do," Thompson told reporters. Instead, lawmakers are eyeing the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), a USDA account previously used to deliver $23 billion in trade war relief under Trump's first term.

However, the CCC is reportedly nearly depleted, and would require congressional replenishment before being deployed again. With Congress embroiled in negotiations to avoid a government shutdown before September 30, the timeline for action remains unclear.

Republican lawmakers continue to push for urgent federal support, warning that without intervention by year-end, U.S. agriculture could face widespread financial damage. "Farmers need assistance the sooner the better," said Senator John Hoeven, who oversees ag appropriations. He suggested that aid could be folded into a year-end spending bill.

Meanwhile, new polling data adds weight to the urgency. According to a Farm Journal survey commissioned by the National Corn Growers Association, nearly 50% of corn farmers believe the U.S. is on the brink of a farm crisis, with another third fearing the sector may be heading that way. 76% of corn growers said they were "very or moderately concerned" about the farm economy - and 65% said that concern has deepened in the past year.

"It's a four-alarm fire in the countryside," said NCGA President Kenneth Hartman Jr. "Farmers are in a lot of economic pain right now."

Secretary Rollins' remarks mark a pivotal moment as the administration weighs economic realities against political commitments. As farm-state Republicans balance loyalty to President Trump with demands from their rural constituencies, the path forward remains fraught but urgent. For now, farmers await a clear signal that relief is on the way - whether through tariffs, CCC authority, or congressional action.