Ag Policy Blog

At least a few farmers are facing some hurdles applying for Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP) funds because their applications must be approved by Farm Service Agency county committees.

Under ECAP, farmers are receiving pre-filled applications in the mail or visiting their local FSA offices directly to fill out the paperwork necessary. USDA officials last week said once the application has been approved, ECAP payments could show up in accounts within three working days.

However, there are local FSA officials informing at least some producers that their applications must be approved by the County Committee (COC). That is a problem, especially if the COC wasn't scheduled to meet again until April, for instance.

Asked about the issue, USDA's Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) team responded to DTN that the Notice of Funding Available published in the Federal Register did specify that applications require FSA COC approval for payment.

"However, to expedite the process, FSA is actively working to provide guidance to states and counties regarding redelegation of authority from the COC to the County Executive Director," FPAC stated.

Depending on a producer's expectations of payment, producers may want to ask their local FSA offices about when the COC meets, or if officials have granted authority to the county executive director to approve payments.

The American Relief Act of 2025 also changes how a producer's income is considered. Rather than using the standards Adjusted Gross Income (AGI), -- a line on IRS 1040 that is defined -- the legislation instead uses "average gross income" for payment limits. Overall, the term "gross income" is not used on tax forms, so average gross income is calculated using the average of 2020, 2021 and 2022 "total income" reported on IRS forms 1040, 1041, 1065, and 1120, the funding notice for ECAP states.

The funding notice did not detail whether the change from AGI to average gross income would affect producers' ability to qualify for payments.

Applications are open for the program, which will run through Aug. 15, 2025.

Also see, "USDA Details $10 Billion Economic Aid Payments for Commodity Producers," https://www.dtnpf.com/…

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

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