USDA News - Lone Star State Edition - December 23, 2024
In This Issue:
Happy Holidays! We have quickly made it to the end of another year, and I hope that you enjoy this time with family and friends, reflecting on all that we have been blessed with and overcome during the past year.
In my last message of this year, I want to make sure you are aware of some important program updates.
Earlier this month, Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced the Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops (MASC) to provide specialty crop producers the financial support needed to help them engage in activities that broaden and enhance strategies and opportunities for marketing their commodities. The application deadline is January 8, 2025, so if you are planning to apply, do not delay contacting your local FSA office.
FSA also announced a second round of payments under the Organic Dairy Marketing Assistance Program (ODMAP) 2024. ODMAP 2024 provides a one-time cost-share payment based on marketing costs on pounds of organic milk marketed in the 2023 calendar year or estimated 2024 marketing costs for organic dairy operations that have increased milk production. FSA accepted applications for ODMAP 2024 between Sept. 30 and Dec.13, 2024, and has already paid $23 million to eligible producers. The second round of payments is automatic and will add $8.7 million in payments to approved program applicants.
Last week, USDA announced additional assistance for distressed direct and guaranteed farm loan borrowers through Section 22006 of the Inflation Reduction Act. USDA is expecting that this final round of assistance will provide $300 million in assistance to more than 12,800 distressed direct and guaranteed loan borrowers. You can read more on this assistance in this newsletter.
I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season!
Sincerely,
Kelly Adkins
State Executive Director
Farm Service Agency - Texas
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Make conservation a New Year’s resolution for your operation
As the holiday season wraps up, I truly hope each of you made time to connect with friends and family. Your work pulls you away from loved ones throughout the year, so it’s important to let your closest friends and family know you appreciate their support. I know we here at NRCS Texas appreciate the work you put into your operations day in, day out.
At this time of year, it’s natural to both reflect upon the past year and look to the next. As I reflect, I’m once again reminded of the phenomenal agriculture community we have in Texas. As you reflect on your past year and look to 2025, consider improving your operation through conservation. We have an incredible team of professionals in Texas, and we are ready to help you address your natural resource concerns — big or small.
If you’re not sure how we can help, stop by your local USDA office and talk with our staff or visit with us at one of the upcoming events. We will be at the American Farm Bureau Convention in San Antonio on Jan. 24-29, and we will also be at the Texas Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association (TOFGA) in Pflugerville on Jan. 26-28.
One avenue you might consider to help improve your operation is our Conservation Stewardship Program. In mid-December, NRCS Texas announced the first batching date for CSP. Applications are being accepted until Jan. 24, 2025, and there are two different funding sources. CSP helps you build on your existing conservation efforts while strengthening your operation, and in fiscal year 2024, the minimum payment for CSP contracts increased from $1,500 to $4,000. The increase addresses challenges faced by small scale, underserved, and urban producers by making participation more financially beneficial for smaller operations. The new minimum payment is available for new and renewed CSP contracts.
NRCS Texas staff are here to serve you as you continue to care for the land and I hope 2025 proves to be a successful year for you and your operation.
Happy New Year,
Kristy Oates
State Conservationist
Natural Resources Conservation Service - Texas
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) $2 billion Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops (MASC) program, aimed at helping specialty crop producers expand markets and manage higher costs, is now accepting applications from Dec. 10, 2024 through Jan. 8, 2025. Funded by the Commodity Credit Corporation, MASC was announced in November alongside the $140 million Commodity Storage Assistance Program for facilities impacted by 2024 natural disasters.
MASC helps specialty crop producers meet higher marketing costs related to:
- Perishability of specialty crops like fruits, vegetables, floriculture, nursey crops and herbs;
- Specialized handling and transport equipment with temperature and humidity control;
- Packaging to prevent damage;
- Moving perishables to market quickly; and
- Higher labor costs.
MASC Eligibility
To be eligible for MASC, a producer must be in business at the time of application, maintain an ownership share and share in the risk of producing a specialty crop that will be sold in calendar year 2025.
MASC covers the following commercially marketed specialty crops:
- Fruits (fresh, dried);
- Vegetables (including dry edible beans and peas, mushrooms, and vegetable seed);
- Tree nuts;
- Nursery crops, Christmas trees, and floriculture;
- Culinary and medicinal herbs and spices; and
- Honey, hops, maple sap, tea, turfgrass and grass seed.
Applying for MASC
Eligible established specialty crop producers can apply for MASC benefits by completing the FSA-1140, Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops (MASC) Program Application, and submitting the form to any FSA county office by Jan. 8, 2025. When applying, eligible specialty crop producers must certify their specialty crop sales for calendar year 2023 or 2024.
New specialty crop producers are required to certify 2025 expected sales, submit an FSA-1141 application and provide certain documentation to support reported sales i.e., receipts, contracts, acreage reports, input receipts, etc. New producers are those who began producing specialty crops in 2023 or 2024 but did not have sales due to the immaturity of the crop, began producing specialty crops in 2024 but did not have a complete year of sales or will begin growing specialty crops in 2025.
MASC applicants, established and new, must also submit the following information to FSA if not already on file at the time of application:
- Form AD-2047, Customer Data Worksheet.
- Form CCC-902, Farm Operating Plan for an individual or legal entity.
- Form CCC-941, Average Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) Certification and Consent to Disclosure of Tax Information.
- Form FSA-942, Certification of Income from Farming, Ranching and Forestry Operations, if applicable, for the producer and members of entities.
- A highly erodible land conservation (sometimes referred to as HELC) and wetland conservation certification (Form AD-1026 Highly Erodible Land Conservation (HELC) and Wetland Conservation (WC) Certification) for the ERP producer and applicable affiliates.
- Other Documentation if requested by FSA to support reported specialty crop sales.
Most producers, especially those who have previously participated in FSA programs, will likely have these required forms on file. However, those who are uncertain or want to confirm the status of their forms or producers who may be new to conducting business with FSA, can contact their local FSA county office.
For MASC program participation, eligible specialty crop sales only include sales of commercially marketed raw specialty crops grown in the United States by the producer. The portion of sales derived from adding value to a specialty crop (such as sorting, processing, or packaging) is not included when determining eligible sales. Further explanation of what is considered by FSA for specialty crop sales as well as an online MASC decision tool and applicable program forms, are available on the MASC program webpage.
MASC Payments
For established specialty crop growers, those who certify crop sales in 2023 or 2024, FSA will calculate MASC payments based on the producer’s total specialty crop sales for the calendar year elected by the producer. Payments for new producers will be based on their expected 2025 calendar year sales. Payment calculation details and examples are available on the MASC webpage or related questions can be directed to local FSA county office staff.
FSA will issue MASC payments after the end of the application period. If demand for MASC payments exceeds available funding, MASC payments may be prorated, and the payment limitation of $125,000 may be lowered. If additional funding is available after MASC payments are issued, FSA may issue an additional payment.
Specialty crop producers interested in applying for MASC benefits, are encouraged to review the program fact sheet for detailed information on program eligibility, required documentation, payment calculations and more.
More Information
Additional information on MASC is available in the Notice of Funding Availability, which went on public inspection in the Federal Register on Dec. 9, 2024.
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While the NRCS continuously accepts applications for enrollment into the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) (both Classic and CSP-Inflation Reduction Act [IRA]) throughout the year, interested applicants must submit applications to the local U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) field office by Jan. 24, 2025, for the CSP Classic and the CSP-IRA sign up. Any applications received after Jan. 24, 2025, will be considered during future CSP application sign ups.
USDA increased the minimum annual payment for agricultural producers participating in the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) from $1,500 to $4,000 starting in fiscal year 2024. The increase addresses challenges faced by small scale, underserved, and urban producers and improves equity in the program by making participation more financially beneficial for smaller operations. The new minimum payment is available for new and renewed CSP contracts.
CSP helps farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners to build on their existing conservation efforts while strengthening their operation. CSP participants earn an annual payment for five years, which enables them to achieve a greater level of conservation and stewardship benefits. Whether you are looking to improve grazing conditions, increase crop resiliency, or develop wildlife habitat, NRCS can custom design a CSP plan to help you meet those goals. CSP-IRA provides an exciting opportunity for producers to install conservation activities promoting climate-smart agriculture and forestry greenhouse gas mitigation on their agricultural operation.
CSP offers technical and financial assistance to help agricultural and forest producers take their conservation efforts to the next level. The program is designed to compensate agricultural and forest producers who agree to increase their level of conservation by adopting additional conservation activities while maintaining their baseline level of conservation.
Examples of CSP enhancements that are suitable for being adopted by smaller scale and urban producers include:
- Planting multi-species cover crops
- Mulching with natural materials
- Establishing pollinator habitats
- Soil health crop rotation
How to Apply
NRCS accepts producer applications for its conservation programs year-round, but producers interested in CSP should apply by Jan. 24, 2025, for consideration. Funding is provided through a competitive process and will include an opportunity to address the unmet demand from producers who have previously sought funding.
For more information about assistance available, contact your local USDA Service Center.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit usda.gov.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced the final approximately $300 million in assistance to distressed direct and guaranteed farm loan borrowers under Section 22006 of the Inflation Reduction Act. Over the past two years, USDA acted swiftly to assist distressed borrowers in retaining their land and continuing their agricultural operations. Since President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law in August 2022, USDA has provided approximately $2.5 billion in assistance to more than 47,800 distressed borrowers.
The assistance announced today is expected to provide $300 million in assistance to over 12,800 distressed direct and guaranteed Farm Loan Programs (FLP) borrowers.
This round of automatic assistance includes approximately:
- $168.5 million for payments in the amount of any outstanding delinquencies on qualifying direct loans as of Nov. 30, 2024, for direct borrowers one or more days delinquent as of that date, and in the amount of any outstanding delinquencies, as of Sept. 30, 2024, on qualifying guaranteed loans of guaranteed borrowers one or more days delinquent or flagged for liquidation on a qualifying loan as of that date (including those who received prior IRA 22006 assistance).
- $5 million for payments in the amount of any outstanding delinquencies on qualifying guaranteed loans as of Sept. 30, 2024, for guaranteed borrowers who were delinquent as of Sept. 30, 2024, on a qualifying loan but by fewer than 30 days and were therefore not eligible for the assistance announced on Oct. 7, 2024.
- $67.3 million for payment of the next installment due on all FLP direct loans for borrowers that received direct borrower delinquency assistance under IRA 22006 announced on Oct. 7, 2024, not to exceed the remaining balance.
- $35 million for payment in the amount of the next installment due on qualifying direct loans for borrowers that restructured or who have accepted an offer to restructure, a qualifying direct loan between March 27, 2023, and today through primary loan servicing available through FSA. This assistance will be equal to the amount of the next installment (first applied toward any delinquency) for all qualifying direct loans held by the borrower, not to exceed the remaining balance. For any borrowers who have accepted an offer to restructure, payment will be equal to the next installment for all qualifying direct loans post-restructure, not to exceed the remaining balance.
- $9 million for the payment of outstanding direct Emergency Loans as of Nov. 30, 2024.
- $4.1 million in assistance for borrowers of qualifying direct loans with protective advances outstanding as of Nov. 30, 2024, and borrowers of qualifying guaranteed loans with protective or emergency advances as of Sept. 30, 2024. Protective advances are defined in 7 C.F.R. 761.2 and are those made consistent with 7 C.F.R. 765.203 or 762.149; emergency advances are those made consistent with 7 C.F.R. 762.146(a)(3). For direct loan borrowers, payments will be in the amount of the outstanding protective advance as of Nov. 30, 2024, where possible based on the structure of the account. For guaranteed loan borrowers, payments will be in the amount of the outstanding protective or emergency advance balance as of Sept. 30, 2024, where possible based on the structure of the account.
- $3.9 million for payment of outstanding interest for direct borrowers whose interest exceeds their principal debt owed as of Nov. 30, 2024.
- $1.8 million for payment of outstanding Economic Emergency (EE) loans for borrowers who have both EE loans and qualifying Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act loans as of Nov. 30, 2024.
- $109,000 for the payment of outstanding non-capitalized interest for all direct borrowers as of Nov. 30, 2024.
FLP payment eligibility is determined on a loan-by-loan basis. Distressed borrowers may be able to receive assistance under multiple categories if they have multiple direct or guaranteed loans that qualify, however each qualifying loan may only receive one payment. FLP direct and guaranteed borrowers who have a loan that qualifies under multiple categories of assistance above will receive a payment on that loan based on the option that provides the greatest payment amount, except in cases where the loan is eligible for payment of non-capitalized interest, which can be applied to that loan along with another assistance category.
Any distressed direct and guaranteed borrowers who qualify for these forms of assistance and are currently in bankruptcy will be addressed using the same case-by-case review process announced in October 2022 for complex cases.
While FSA does not at this time anticipate having remaining funds available for additional assistance under IRA Section 22006 after each type of assistance above is issued, if any funds remain at that time, FSA will make a payment on a prorated basis by loan and subject to the availability of funds towards the next installment due on all FLP direct loans, not to exceed the remaining balance, for borrowers who both (i) have direct loans that qualified for assistance under the first bullet above; and (ii) have not received IRA 22006 assistance prior to this announcement. If full next installment payments are made to borrowers who meet (i) and (ii) above, and funds remain available, FSA will provide the same installment assistance on a prorated basis by loan and subject to the availability of funds to borrowers who meet (i) but have received prior IRA 22006 assistance.
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USDA is announcing a second round of payments for dairy producers through the Organic Dairy Marketing Assistance Program (ODMAP) 2024, providing an additional $8.7 million to help dairy producers mitigate market volatility, higher input and transportation costs, and unstable feed supply and prices that have created unique hardships in the organic dairy industry. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) has already paid out $23 million in the first round of payments for eligible producers, bringing total ODMAP 2024 payments to more than $31 million.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) welcomes input on the assessment of environmental impacts on two programs – the Tree Assistance Program (TAP) and Farm Storage Facility Loan (FSFL) program. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is accepting comments until Jan. 18 on its draft programmatic environmental assessments. The TAP environmental assessment includes updates to streamline the program and enable a quick response to natural disasters. The FSFL environmental assessment recommends continuing the program as currently administered.
The National Environmental Policy Act requires federal agencies to consider the potential effects of major federal actions to both the natural and human environments as part of their planning and decision-making processes. Draft programmatic environmental assessments help FSA to determine whether program changes are needed and plan the implementation of proposed updates.
Tree Assistance Program
TAP helps cover the cost of replanting or rehabilitating eligible trees, bushes and vines that produce annual crops that have been damaged or destroyed by natural disasters. This program is crucial for helping producers recover from adverse natural disaster events and ensuring the long-term viability of their agricultural operations. The proposed program implementation update would include additional management tools and screening criteria that allow FSA to respond more quickly and effectively to time-sensitive natural disasters, including plant diseases.
Farm Storage Facility Loan Program
FSFL improves nationwide on-farm storage capacity for upgrading and building farm storage facilities for eligible commodities. The recommendation to continue the program as currently administered is based on a need to improve the ability of agricultural producers to preserve harvested crops, reduce post-harvest losses and improve marketing and sales opportunities.
More Information
Both draft programmatic environmental assessments may be reviewed on the FSA current environmental documents page Written comments regarding the TAP and FSFL programs can be emailed to SM.FPAC.FBC.ENV@usda.gov until Jan. 18.
For detailed program information, view FSA’s TAP and FSFL program fact sheets.
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The Farm Loan team across Texas is already working on operating loans for spring 2025 and asks potential borrowers to submit their requests early so they can be timely processed. The farm loan team can help determine which loan programs are best for applicants.
FSA offers a wide range of low-interest loans that can meet the financial needs of any farm operation for just about any purpose. The traditional farm operating and farm ownership loans can help large and small farm operations take advantage of early purchasing discounts for spring inputs as well expenses throughout the year.
Microloans are a simplified loan program that will provide up to $50,000 for both Farm Ownership and Operating Microloans to eligible applicants. These loans, targeted for smaller and non-traditional operations, can be used for operating expenses, starting a new operation, purchasing equipment, and other needs associated with a farming operation. Loans to beginning farmers and members of underserved groups are a priority.
Other types of loans available include:
Marketing Assistance Loans allow producers to use eligible commodities as loan collateral and obtain a 9-month loan while the crop is in storage. These loans provide cash flow to the producer and allow them to market the crop when prices may be more advantageous.
Farm Storage Facility Loans can be used to build permanent structures used to store eligible commodities, for storage and handling trucks, or portable or permanent handling equipment. A variety of structures are eligible under this loan, including bunker silos, grain bins, hay storage structures, and refrigerated structures for vegetables and fruit. A producer may borrow up to $500,000 per loan.
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USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is committed to helping navigate the many opportunities we provide to farmers, ranchers, tribal nations, and landowners. Our agency is honored to partner with agricultural producers as they navigate every stage of their operation—from getting started to expanding.
FSA offers a full suite of programs to help agricultural producers access capital, protect the land and manage risk. We recognize it can be challenging for new customers to navigate the agency and get started, so we developed a packet of information that will help producers get to know FSA.
The new FSA Apply Now Packets will ensure a more productive customer experience when visiting with local FSA staff. The forms in the packet are needed for customers to participate in FSA and Natural Resources and Conservation Service (NRCS) programs.
To access these resources, visit www.farmers.gov/working-with-us/common-forms.
Get started today!
For more information on FSA programs, contact your local FSA office or visit fsa.usda.gov.
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