Have you applied for the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program?
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EmailThe program provides payments to most row crops, including legumes and oilseeds.
The Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP) is a government program administered by the USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). It provides funds to farmers to offset income loss in 2024 due to increased input costs and reduced crop prices.
To qualify for ECAP, you must be actively farming and be responsible for input expenses for a covered crop. You also need to have reported your 2024 crop acreage to FSA for crops planted as well as prevented planting. Eligible crops include corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton, rice and many kinds of legumes and oil seeds.
Your payment is based on how many acres you planted, not how much you harvested. Each crop has a fixed payment per acre. You can find these payment amounts on the USDA’s ECAP website at farmers.gov. If you planted the crop, you can get the full payment per acre. If you had prevented planting, you can get half the payment. At first, farmers will receive 85% of the total payment amount. If there are funds remaining after the application period ends, farmers may get some or all of their remaining payment amount. You can use USDA’s ECAP online calculator to estimate your payment.
Payment limits for ECAP depend on how much of your income came from farming in 2020, 2021 and 2022. If less than 75% of your total income in those years came from farming, you can get up to $125,000. If 75% or more of your income came from farming, you can get up to $250,000. To receive the higher payment limit of $250,000, you must include Form CCC-943 with your application. This form must be certified by a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Enrolled Agent (EA) or attorney.
Applications are being accepted until August 15, 2025. Most farmers received a pre-filled ECAP application in the mail in March. If you didn’t get one, contact your local FSA office. You can apply online through login.gov, in person at your local FSA office, by mail or by email. All other required forms (except the CCC-943) are typically filed from other programs. For questions or help with your application, contact your local FSA office or visit USDA’s ECAP webpage.
