Corn growers are pleading with Washington to allow year-round sales of higher ethanol-blended fuel and to clinch trade deals that open new markets, as farmers confront a “perfect storm” of rising costs and lower crop prices.

The Trump administration is assessing whether it needs to send financial aid to farmers, who are drowning in a sea of high costs that began with Biden-era inflation in 2022 and got worse from tariff-induced increases.

Yet farmers don’t want handouts. They want to sell their products.

Kenneth Hartman Jr., president of the National Corn Growers Association, said Congress should pass a bill that permanently authorizes “E15,” the shorthand for a fuel blend made of gasoline and 15% corn ethanol instead of 10%.

Corn farmers say a higher ethanol blend is cheaper and better for the environment, so Congress should remove outdated regulations that prevent drivers from accessing higher-ethanol fuels in the summer months.

“Our number one issue is the E15. Just get E15 passed and done,” Mr. Hartman told The Washington Times in a wide-ranging interview. “The other thing is, obviously, trade. We need trade. We need the president to keep working on trade agreements.”

Third, Mr. Hartman would like policymakers to take a hard look at why prices for things like fertilizer and equipment have risen so sharply — and what can be done about it.

His association found fertilizer prices are up more than 73% compared with 2007 levels, and capital equipment and machinery costs are up 143%.

“The inflation has just destroyed the farmer,” he said.

The Trump administration is keenly aware that farmers, a major bloc of political support, are struggling and may need a lifeline. The issue comes up frequently in interviews and other appearances.

“There’s a lot of stress for American farmers,” Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, told CNBC on Thursday.  “We’re concerned, especially in California, that we’re starting to see bankruptcies and defaults.”

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the administration is considering a relief package that uses tariff revenue to support farmers.

“There may be circumstances under which we will be very seriously looking to and announcing a package soon,” Ms. Rollins told The Financial Times in a recent interview. “We are reviewing markets every day.”

Soybean growers, in particular, are struggling because China refuses to buy their crop.

The U.S. used to be the provider of choice for Chinese buyers. Yet those buyers are turning to sellers in Brazil because of trade tension and retaliatory tariffs.

Ms. Rollins said the Trump team is talking to Beijing about purchases.

“Hopefully announcements are coming soon,” she told the FT.

Mr. Trump said he spoke to Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday and they made progress “on many very important issues, including trade.”

There’s cause for optimism elsewhere. Mr. Trump notched recent wins by finalizing a trade deal with the U.K. that calls on the British to purchase more corn ethanol and beef.

A separate deal with Japan requires purchases of U.S. corn and soybeans, and the administration is renegotiating its trade deal with Canada and Mexico, which make huge purchases of American farm products.

“President Trump and Secretary Rollins are always in touch with the needs of our farmers, who played a crucial role in the president’s November victory,” White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly said. “President Trump is delivering on his promise to cool inflation, which will lower input costs, and negotiate fairer trade deals that are opening new markets for America’s agriculture industry.”

Mr. Trump is using the threat of hefty tariffs to secure new trade deals. At the same time, those levies threaten to increase the cost of imported fertilizer and equipment that farmers use.

The president imposed a sweeping 10% tariff — a tax on foreign goods brought into U.S. markets — on all imports. More recently, the White House finalized tariffs from 15% to 41% on dozens of countries, raising levies to their highest levels in more than a century.

Key exporters of phosphate fertilizers, such as Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, are subject to a 10% tariff, while Jordan and Israel have a 15% rate, according to S&P Global.

“We are obviously always concerned about tariffs, but at the same time, we are happy with the administration that they are working on trying to get trade agreements,” Mr. Hartman said.

Mr. Trump’s USDA says the Biden administration is to blame for allowing the farm economy to sag.

“Over the last four years, their trade agenda benefited foreign competitors more than America’s farmers and ranchers. This led to a $50 billion agricultural trade deficit, when under President Trump we had a surplus,” the agency said in a written statement.

The USDA said Mr. Trump is seeking new markets through trade deals and rolling out the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program to provide $10 billion in direct assistance to farmers.

“President Trump is the most pro-farmer president of our lifetime, and through his leadership, we are supporting farmers through unprecedented new international market access, lowering taxes, and boosting the farm safety net in the One Big Beautiful Bill,” the agency said. “We are constantly assessing the farm economy and exploring the need for further assistance but have not made a determination if an additional program is needed at this time.”

On Capitol Hill, Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican, told reporters there is “tremendous stress” on farmers because of low prices.

“I think it’s going to hit a crescendo where there will end up being some help, but it hasn’t reached that point yet,” Mr. Grassley said.

Mr. Grassley also said legislation that allows E15 fuel permanently, as corn growers are demanding, is possible by the end of the year.

Opponents of E15 include the oil industry and those who fear that ethanol fuel is incompatible with older engines. Others claim high-ethanol fuel increases ground-level smog in the summer months.

Yet proponents say E15 is a win-win for the environment and farmers.

“Rural America is ready to fuel America through innovation,” said Rep. Adrian Smith, Nebraska Republican who sponsored a bill to codify year-round E15. “Support for my bill is growing, and I’m optimistic we will find a path forward to codify year-round, uninterrupted access to E15.”

While Washington mulls its next steps, farmers say their economic warning signs are blinking red.

The corn growers association conducted a recent survey of farmers and found nearly half of them, or 46%, believed the U.S. is on the brink of a farm-economy crisis.

Farmers said they are holding off on equipment purchases, cutting down on fertilizer applications and seeking off-farm income.

This year’s corn crop is set to be 1.4 billion bushels above the record set in 2023. But there aren’t enough markets in which to sell the massive harvest, so prices will continue to go down.

Farmers who once had stable operations have been forced to borrow money to produce their crops.

“Everything we’ve had to buy has skyrocketed [in cost]. It went up,” Mr. Hartman said. “But at the same time, our prices have gone down, so it’s the perfect storm.”

• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.