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Specialty crop growers must report ’25 acreage to FSA by April 24

Posted on Apr 15, 2026 at 9:44 AM

Specialty crop producers who want to apply for payments under the Assistance for Specialty Crop Farmers (ASCF) program must report their 2025 specialty crop acreage to the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) by April 24. This is an extended deadline from the original March 13 deadline USDA set when the agency announced program details on Feb. 13.

The ASCF program is designed to help address market disruptions, elevated input costs, persistent inflation, and market losses from foreign competitors engaging in unfair trade practices that impede exports. ASCF payments will be based on reported 2025 planted acres. 

After reporting their 2025 specialty crop acreage to FSA, producers are encouraged to prepare for the eventual announcement of the ASCF program application period by creating a Login.gov account. Doing so ensures that once FSA starts taking ASCF program applications, those producers who wish to apply online will experience an expedited application and payment process. Assistance will also be available through local FSA county offices. 

The USDA first announced that specialty crop producers would be allocated $1 billion in early December 2025 when it announced that it was allocating $11 billion to row crop producers under the Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) program. The ASCF program is authorized under the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act and FSA will administer it.

Eligible Specialty Crops 

ASCF-eligible specialty crops include: (A) Almond, Apple, Apricot, Aronia berry, Artichoke, Asparagus, Avocado (B) Banana, Bean (Snap or green; Lima; Dry edible), Beet (Table), Blackberry, Blueberry, Breadfruit, Broccoli (including Broccoli Raab), Brussels Sprouts (C) Cabbage (including Chinese), Cacao, Carrot, Cashew, Cauliflower,Celeriac, Celery, Cherimoya, Cherry, Chestnut (for Nuts), Chive, Citrus, Coconut, Coffee, Collards (including Kale),Cranberry, Cucumber, Currant (D) Date,  (E)  Eggplant, Endive (F) Feijou, Fig, Filbert (Hazelnut) (G) Garlic, Gooseberry, Grape (including Raisin), Guava (H) Horseradish (K) Kiwi, Kohlrabi (L) Leek, Lettuce,Litchi (M) Macadamia, Mango, Melon (All Types), Mushroom (Cultivated), Mustard and Other Greens (N) Nectarine (O) Okra, Olive, Onion,  (P) Papaya, Parsley, Parsnip, Passion Fruit, Pea (Garden; English or Edible Pod; Dry edible), Peach, Pear, Pecan, Pepper, Persimmon, Pineapple, Pistachio, Plum (including Prune), Pomegranate, Potato, Pumpkin (Q) Quince (R) Radish (All Types), Raspberry, Rhubarb, Rutabaga (S) Salsify, Spinach, Squash (Summer and Winter), Strawberry, Suriname Cherry, Sweet Corn, Sweet Potato, Swiss Chard (T) Taro, Tomato (including Tomatillo), Turnip (W) Walnut, Watermelon *Dry edible beans and peas covered by the Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) program will not be eligible for ASCF. Commodities covered by FBA will not be eligible for ASCF. 

Program Participation 

ASCF payments will be based on reported 2025 planted acres. USDA will release commodity-specific payment rates soon after the acreage reporting deadline.  

Following completion of acreage reporting, producers are encouraged to prepare for the eventual announcement of the ASCF program application period by creating a Login.gov account. Doing so ensures that once FSA starts taking ASCF program applications, those producers who wish to apply online will experience an expedited application and payment process. Assistance will also be available through local FSA county offices. 

Login.gov is the public’s one account for government engagement. Producers can use one account and password for secure, private access to participating government agencies, including FSA. Begin the Login.gov process by visiting fsa.usda.gov/fba to create a Login.gov account. Producers who have an existing Login.gov account can work with FSA using their existing account. For assistance creating a login.gov account, visit https://login.gov/help/ . 

Crop insurance linkage will not be required for the ASCF program. However, USDA strongly urges producers to take advantage of the new crop insurance provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) to best protect against price risk and volatility in the future. 

More information on ASCF is available online at https://www.fsa.usda.gov/fba . Producers can contact their local FSA county office to make an appointment to complete their 2025 crop acreage report. 

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