USDA Economic Assistance Applications Now Open

Reuters’ Leah Douglas reported that “the U.S. Department of Agriculture will on Wednesday begin accepting applications from farmers affected by low commodity prices for economic aid passed by Congress last year, an agency official said on Tuesday.”

“The stop-gap government funding package passed by Congress last December included $10 billion for economic assistance, a supplement to existing farm subsidy programs that support U.S. crops,” Douglas reported. “U.S. farmers are struggling with slumping prices that have made some crops more expensive to plant than sell, and are expected to plant more corn this year in a bid to eke out a profit.”

“The Emergency Commodity Assistance Program will pay farmers a flat rate by acreage for eligible commodities like wheat, corn, barley, and oats, said Brooke Appleton, the USDA’s deputy under secretary for farm production and conservation, on a call with reporters,” Douglas reported. “Once farmers’ applications are approved, they will receive payments directly to their bank accounts within three business days on average, Appleton said.”

Progressive Farmer’s Chris Clayton reported that “beyond the economic aid, farmers who suffered losses from natural disasters in 2023 and 2024 also should expect more details coming soon about how USDA will distribute nearly $21 billion in disaster aid. That includes $2 billion set aside for livestock producers and other funds that will be block-granted to states.”

How Economic Assistance Payments are Being Calculated

Clayton reported that “eligible commodities include corn, soybeans, wheat, sorghum, upland and extra-long staple cotton, long- and medium-grain rice, barley, oats, peanuts, other oilseeds, dry peas, lentils and small and large chickpeas.”

“The payments will be based on 2024 planted acres for the eligible crop. Prevented planting acres will be counted at 50% of the lost acres reported. There were just over 4.7 million prevented-planting acres in 2024,” Clayton reported. “The legislation had specific formulas setting payment at either 26% of economic losses — the difference between production costs and gross returns for that commodity — or, 8% of the crop’s Price Loss Coverage (PLC) reference price, multiplied by the average PLC payment yield, then multiplied by the eligible acres on that farm. For corn, wheat and soybeans, the 26% calculation provided a higher payment rate.”

“Hitting its deadline to get the program started, USDA officials said enrollment for ECAP will begin Wednesday, March 19. Commodity producers will receive pre-filled applications based on their 2024 acreage report, but farmers also can visit their local FSA office starting Wednesday to enroll in person,” Clayton reported.

Why Economic Assistance is Coming for Farmers

Clayton reported that “the payments come as corn and soybean prices have been stagnant or lower since the crop insurance price was set at the end of February at $4.70 a bushel for corn and $10.54 a bushel for soybeans. Economists for corn and soybean groups said earlier this month at Commodity Classic that farmers, on average, are facing $100 an acre loss planting either crop this spring.”

AgWeb Editors reported Tuesday that “the payments will ‘definitely help’ farmers and ranchers in the U.S., said Chad Hart, Iowa State University ag economist, on a March 18 AgriTalk segment.”

“‘If you think about what the ag economy has been going through in the past couple of years, we have seen a drop in net farm income that has led to a softening of the overall ag economy, which has manifested itself in, for example, the layoffs we’ve seen with John Deere and things like that,’ he says,” according to AgWeb. “‘So this does help support that cash flow going into planting season.’”

USDA Economic Assistance Applications Now Open was originally published by Farmdoc.