WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture will start accepting applications for the $10 billion in market-based assistance passed by Congress as part of year-end legislation in December, Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., announced Tuesday, March 18.
Congress on Dec. 21, 2024, passed the American Relief Act of 2025, a continuing resolution that stopped a government shutdown
The bill was signed into law by President Joe Biden.
With the $10 billion in funds set aside for economic assistance, USDA set up the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program to provide economic assistance payments to eligible producers of eligible commodities for the 2024 crop year to help farmers “cope with losses from natural disasters and a difficult farm economy” and to “help preserve family farms and ranches across the country while also continuing to ensure food and agricultural security for our nation,”
according to a Federal Register document scheduled to publish Wednesday, March 19
.
“This $10 billion in assistance is an important step to help producers recover from the challenging markets and comes as part of our commitment to keep our farmers and ranchers in the game, whether they face natural disasters, challenging markets or trade disputes,” Hoeven said in a statement.
“Producers are facing higher costs and market uncertainty, and the Trump Administration is ensuring they get the support they need without delay,” U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said in a statement. “With clear direction from Congress, USDA has prioritized streamlining the process and accelerating these payments ahead of schedule, ensuring farmers have the resources necessary to manage rising expenses and secure financing for next season.”
Hoeven said he is continuing to work with USDA on advancing the $21 billion in weather-related assistance for losses in 2023 and 2024, which includes $2 billion set aside for livestock producers, including those with losses due to
.
Eligible commodities for ECAP include wheat, corn, sorghum, barley, oats, soybeans, dry peas, lentils, chickpeas, canola, flax and sunflower, among other crops. Only one application is required for all ECAP eligible commodities. ECAP assistance will be based on acreage and calculated using a flat payment rate for the eligible commodity multiplied by the eligible reported acres. For acres reported as prevented plant, ECAP assistance will be calculated at 50%.
Hoeven, who chairs the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee and is a senior of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said he has been working with
to find ways to quickly deliver the assistance, including encouraging USDA to use a streamlined application process to help ensure an efficient and timely process.
According to Hoeven’s office, USDA will send producers pre-filled applications based on 2024 acreage reporting data after program signup begins on March 19. Producers who still need to submit their 2024 plant and prevented planting data may do so until the program deadline of Aug. 15, 2025. Applications may be submitted online or to local Farm Service Agency offices.
“Secretary Rollins has committed to getting the funds distributed as quickly as possible, with payments to start going out by March 21,” Hoeven said.
His office said the initial payments will come to 85% of the total, with a supplemental payment to follow in the summer.
Hoeven said it’s important that a new farm bill get passed that invests in the farm safety net so that such ad-hoc disaster assistance will no longer be needed.
, officially called the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, originally was set to expire in 2023 but now has gotten two one-year extensions. The expiration date now is Sept. 30, 2025.
“Of course, we needed to do that because we don’t have the new farm bill in place yet,” Hoeven said in a recorded message about the assistance package. “So this is important, but the key is we need to get that farm bill done and it needs to work for our farmers and ranchers.”
USDA has announced the following per-acre payment rates for crops under ECAP:
- Wheat: $30.69
- Corn: $42.91
- Sorghum: $42.52
- Barley: $21.67
- Oats: $77.66
- Upland cotton and extra-long staple cotton: $84.74
- Long and medium-grain rice: $76.94
- Peanuts: $75.51
- Soybeans: $29.76
- Dry peas: $16.02
- Lentils: $19.30
- Small chickpeas: $31.45
- Large chickpeas: $24.02
- Canola: $31.83
- Crambe: $19.08
- Flax: $20.97
- Mustard: $11.36
- Rapeseed: $23.63
- Safflower: $26.32
- Sesame: $16.83
- Sunflower: $27.23
Hoeven’s office said more information on ECAP will be available at
.
Jenny Schlecht is the director of ag content for Agweek and serves as editor of Agweek, Sugarbeet Grower and BeanGrower. She lives on a farm and ranch near Medina, North Dakota, with her husband and two daughters. You can reach her at jschlecht@agweek.com or 701-595-0425.