Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) is not a fan of the idea that the best way to help farmers hurt by the Iran war is to throw more money at both the war and the farmers. He has a simpler suggestion: stop the war.
Massie, who is himself a Kentucky farmer, voiced his disapproval of Congress's push for more than $11 billion in supplemental funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as part of the broader Iran war budget. He called the move "ironic" in an interview with The Hill, noting that the war with Iran is what created the need for a farmer bailout in the first place. The funds are meant to compensate farmers for the spike in fuel and fertilizer prices caused by the conflict.
The outgoing lawmaker argued that the cycle of funding the war, then bailing out farmers, then funding other affected industries doesn't make sense. "The solution is [to] stop the war," he said.
Farm Aid Highlights War's Cost
Massie's criticism underscores a broader economic reality: the Iran war isn't just a defense budget line item. It's hitting sectors like agriculture hard, and the costs are piling up.
On Tuesday, the Trump administration asked Congress to approve nearly $11.1 billion in supplemental funding for the USDA. That includes $10 billion in temporary aid for 2026 crop producers and just over $1 billion for farmers hit by winter storms in late 2025 and early 2026. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins urged lawmakers to back the request, calling it a temporary measure while the administration works on reducing long-term reliance on government assistance.
The root cause? The Iran conflict has driven up fertilizer prices as military restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz disrupted a key global trade route. Between February and June, nitrogen fertilizer prices rose 23.5%, hitting some of the highest levels in more than 50 years, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon raised its official cost estimate for the U.S.-Israel war against Iran to $37.5 billion. That's up $8.5 billion from the previous estimate of $29 billion released in May. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended a broader request for nearly $70 billion in supplemental war funding during a Senate hearing.
So the question Massie is posing: if the war is causing the problem, why not just end it instead of pouring billions into treating the symptoms?
