USDA offering eligible farmers $10B in aid to offset ’24 crop

The U.S. Department of Agriculture will issue up to $10 billion in direct economic assistance to farmers based on planted and prevented planted crop acres for eligible commodities for the 2024 crop year.

Farmers struggled to make profits last year amid low commodity prices and high production costs and agricultural economists forecast farmers will continue to struggle to make profits in 2025.

In Arkansas, qualifying crops will include corn, cotton, peanuts, rice, sorghum, soybeans and wheat.

The per-acre payment rates will be: for corn, $42.91 per acre; for cotton, $84.74 per acre; for peanuts, $75.51 per acre; for rice, $76.94 per acre; for sorghum, $42.52 per acre; for soybeans, $29.76 per acre; and for wheat, $30.69 per acre, according to the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension.

The Emergency Commodity Assistance Program was authorized under the American Relief Act of 2025, which was signed into law by former President Joseph Biden in December; The funding package included money for agricultural disaster assistance, the $10 billion in direct economic assistance to farmers and a one-year Farm Bill extension.

The aid will be issued as applications are approved and farmers won't get the full payment initially, as payments will be pro-rated by 85% to ensure payments don't exceed available funding, and another round of payments may be issued with any remaining funds, according to USDA.

The per-acre payment rate will be based on national economic data on costs and returns from USDA, and farm-specific total payments will be based on the sum of all planted acres and 50% of failed acres, measured by those prevented from planting as determined by the Farm Service Agency, Extension economist Hunter Biram said.

The application period opened on March 19 and closes Aug. 15.

Farmers eligible for the financial assistance are those actively engaged in farming, are interested in input expenses for a covered commodity crop and have reported acreage of eligible commodities to the U.S. Farm Service Agency for the 2024 crop year planted and prevent plant acres to the Farm Service Agency on an FSA-578 report of acreage form.

Producers can submit Emergency Commodity Assistance Program applications to their local Farm Service Agency county office by Aug. 15. Only one application is needed for all Emergency Commodity Assistance Program-eligible commodities. Applications can be submitted to the Farm Service Agency in-person, electronically at Box and One-Span, by fax or by applying online at fsa.usda.gov/ecap using a secure login.gov account.

Producers need to have several forms handy: customer data worksheet form AD-2047; member information for legal entities form CCC-901, if applicable; farm operating plan for an individual or legal entity, form CCC-902; 75% of average gross income from farming, ranching, or forestry certification form CCC-943, if applicable; highly erodible land conservation and wetland conservation certification, form AD-1026, and direct deposit SF-3881.

Except for the new CCC-943 form, most producers, especially those who have participated in Farm Service Agency programs before, likely already have these forms on file.