New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Monday announced the launch of a $30 million state program to provide direct payments to farmers hurt by federal tariffs, with applications now open for eligible producers.
The Agricultural Resiliency Against Tariffs Program will offer direct payments of up to $25,000 to dairy, livestock, specialty crop, and aquaculture producers
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New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Monday announced the launch of a $30 million state program to provide direct payments to farmers hurt by federal tariffs, with applications now open for eligible producers.
The Agricultural Resiliency Against Tariffs Program will distribute payments ranging from $1,000 to $25,000 to dairy, livestock, specialty crop, and aquaculture producers. The program was first proposed in Hochul's 2026 State of the State address and received its full $30 million allocation in the enacted state budget.
"The tariffs imposed by the Trump administration are reckless and damaging to so many of our industries, including our agricultural producers, who rely so heavily on the forces of international markets," Hochul said in a statement.
The program is structured around two tracks: one for cow dairy farms and a second covering livestock, livestock products, specialty crops, and aquaculture. To qualify, applicants must derive at least two-thirds of federal gross income in excess of $30,000 from agricultural activities, produce eligible crops within New York State, and have their eligibility certified by a qualified financial professional. The deadline to apply is Aug. 11, 2026.
The state said an estimated 20% of a farmer's income depends on export markets, and that tariffs imposed in 2025 have created financial hardship on both sides of the ledger — cutting into export revenue while raising the cost of imported inputs like grain, feed, fertilizer, and equipment. The state noted that over 80% of agrochemical imports and 70% of farm machinery imports originate from countries subject to U.S. tariffs.
New York's wine industry has been among the hardest hit. The state said New York wine exports to Canada — the largest market for U.S. wine exports — fell 77% last year, even as overall U.S. wine exports declined 33%.
New York State Agriculture Commissioner Richard A. Ball said in a statement that farmers "get hit by tariffs on both the export and import side, losing market opportunities while also facing rising costs of things like grain, equipment and fertilizer."
As Quartz has tracked the tariff impact across industries, U.S. farmers have faced a dual squeeze: retaliatory tariffs from trading partners have landed on farm goods, while steel and aluminum duties have made machinery and equipment more expensive. Farmers are also dependent on crop-protection chemicals imported from China and India, many of which carry elevated tariff rates.
Hochul's office said the broader financial toll of tariffs on New York agricultural producers is still being calculated, but that many commodities have already reported measurable burdens.
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