Ag News

USDA announces ASCF enrollment period, payment rates

On May 29, the USDA announced payment rates and the enrollment period for the Assistance for Specialty Crops Farmers (ASCF) program. The USDA will issue $1.625 billion in payments to eligible specialty crop producers in response to elevated input costs and market disruptions resulting from foreign competitors engaging in unfair trade practices that impeded specialty crop exports.

Producers who have a Login.gov account can access and submit their pre-filled application through Aug. 7, 2026. Producers who do not have a Login.gov account or prefer to enroll in person at their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office can request their prefilled application beginning June 8, 2026.

These payments are authorized under the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act and are administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA). Specialty crop payments are intended to provide financial support to allow producers to pay for production and marketing inputs in the face of significant market disruptions during the 2025 growing season.

How to Apply

Pre-filled applications are available online to producers with a Login.gov account who timely filed their 2025 crop acreage report for eligible specialty crops. Producer can request their pre-filled ASCF application from their FSA county office.

The deadline to submit completed ASCF applications is Aug. 7. Producers can complete their applications online or submit them to their FSA county office.

Payments will be issued as applications are submitted and approved, beginning as early as the first week of signup.

Eligibility

Specialty crop acres of eligible crops reported to FSA as an initial, double crop, repeat crop, or subsequent crop by April 24, 2026, will be used to determine ASCF program payments. Acreage that is reported as a cover crop, prevented planted, or with an intended use of grazing, left standing, green manure, silage, forage, volunteer, or experimental will not be used to determine ASCF program payments.

For a complete list of eligible specialty crops visit https://fsa.usda.gov/ascf. Specialty crops grown in a controlled environment are not eligible, except for mushrooms. Some ASCF- eligible specialty crops grown in Georgia include: apples, beans, blackberries, blueberries, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, citrus, collards/kale, cucumbers, eggplant, figs, grapes, lettuce, melons, mushrooms (cultivated), mustards & other greens, okra, olives, onions, peas, peaches, pecans, peppers, persimmons, potatoes, pumpkins, spinach, squash, strawberries, sweet corn, sweet potatoes, swiss chard, tomatoes, turnips, and watermelons.

Crop insurance linkage is not required.

Payment Calculation

FSA used national average revenue per crop as a metric for developing the ASCF program payment categories and payment rates listed below. For a full list of eligible crops under each category, visit fsa.usda.gov/ascf.

Tier 1 - $650 per acre

Includes eligible specialty crops with an average annual revenue of more than $10,000 per acre.

Tier 2 - $225 per acre

Includes eligible specialty crops with an average annual revenue of more than $2,300 per acre and up to $10,000 per acre.

Tier 3 - $65 per acre

Includes eligible specialty crops with an average annual revenue of up to $2,300 per acre.

Beans and Peas - $25 per acre

Includes all types of beans and peas that were not eligible for the Farmer Bridge Assistance program.

For more information on how revenue per acre was calculated, visit fsa.usda.gov/ascf.

The ASCF payment limitation is $250,000.

More information on ASCF is available online at fsa.usda.gov/ascf. Producers can also contact their local FSA county office.

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