Latest on USDA Assistance: Payment Rates and More for Specialty Crop Farmers

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins has announced payment rates and the enrollment period for the Assistance for Specialty Crops Farmers (ASCF) program. 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 starting June 1, 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. The ASCF enrollment period closes on Aug. 7, 2026.

The payments are authorized under the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act and are administered by the 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.

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 list of eligible specialty crops visit fsa.usda.gov/ascf. Specialty crops grown in a controlled environment are not eligible, except for mushrooms.

Payment Calculation

FSA used national average revenue per crop as a metric for developing the ASCF program payment categories and payment rates listed below.

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 FBA program.

The ASCF payment limitation is $250,000.

For more details about how to enroll in and payment rates for the Assistance for Specialty Crops Farmers program, visit fsa.usda.gov/ascf.