(CNN) American farmers already receive billions of dollars in federal aid every year to protect them when prices fall due to weather or market fluctuations.

The Trump administration juiced this long-standing safety net by pledging an additional $12 billion in aid Tuesday -- but this time, it's to compensate some farmers and ranchers from the fallout of President Donald Trump's widening trade feuds. The nation's agriculture sector has seen prices drop and supplies pile up as other countries impose tariffs to counter Trump's actions.

The effort is unusual because of its magnitude and because it originates from the executive branch, not Congress.

It's also notable that it comes in reaction to a "self-inflicted disaster," said Joseph Glauber, senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington, DC.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday that it will utilize a Great Depression-era law to send payments to producers of dairy, hogs and certain crops. It will also purchase surpluses of commodities including fruits, nuts, rice, beef, pork and milk and distribute them to food banks and other nutrition programs. And the agency will work with the private sector to develop new export markets for farmers.

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