New Jersey State FSA Newsletter - January 2025
 The January 8th deadline for the Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops Program (MASC) is quickly approaching. Eligible producers are encouraged to reach out to their local Farm Service Agency Office. This program will provide money to producers of specialty crops based on a certification of 2023 or 2024 (2025 for new producers of specialty crops) total sales of eligible specialty crops. The $2 billion in funding for MASC was announced on December 9th. Click here to read the news release.
Specialty crops include:
- 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.
- Click here for a more detailed list of specialty crops.
MASC Factsheet can be seen here
Some important notes:
- Applications must be received by January 8, 2025.
-
Program funds can be used as you see fit and are unrestricted.
- This is not a loan so there is no repayment. This is not a grant so there is no grant application, management, or follow up on how funds are used.
- The payment limitation for this program $125,000.
- Documentation/proof is not required for 2023 or 2024 certifications, unless requested by FSA.
- Eligible crops are raw commodities only.
- “Value added” value must be deducted. For example:
- If wine is sold, only the value of the grapes used in the wine is eligible.
- If Maple syrup is sold, only the value of the sap used in the syrup is eligible.
- If flower arrangements are sold, only the value of the loose flowers used in the arrangement is eligible.
- CSA fees for specialty crops are eligible. Ineligible crop values (i.e. eggs) must be removed.
- Nursery stock bought and resold is not eligible, unless it was held for a characteristic change. Like buying a 2” potted plant and selling a 6” plant.
- Value added by “sorting, processing, or packaging” is not eligible and must be removed from the total sales where applicable.
- basic packaging required to bring the product to market bottles for honey or pint containers for grape tomatoes are eligible and their cost does not need to be subtracted.
- Crop insurance and NAP payments for eligible crops can be included in total sales in the certification year.
Program Documentation:
- All applicants must submit a complete Form FSA-1140, MASC Application to any FSA county office by Jan. 8, 2025. instructions for FSA-1140 are available.
- All applicants must also complete:
-
Form CCC-941, (attached) Average Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) Certification and Consent to Disclosure of Tax Information for 2025, certifying to having an yearly Adjusted Gross Income of $900,000 of less for the average of 2021, 2022 and 2023.
-
Entities will need to complete more than one of these forms, one for the entity and one for each member.
-
The form is completed for 2025 regardless of the year you are certifying to on the FSA-1140.
- Forms that you may not need to complete. Ask your local office before completing and submitting.
-
Form AD-2047, Customer Data Worksheet. Only for new FSA participants
-
Form CCC-942, Certification of Income from Farming, Ranching and Forestry Operations, if applicable, for the producer and members of entities.
-
This form may only be used by persons or legal entities that exceed the average AGI $900,000 threshold. Persons or legal entities may otherwise meet AGI requirements if the person or legal entity’s average adjusted gross farm income is at least 75 percent of their average AGI
-
Form CCC-902, Farm Operating Plan for an individual or legal entity. Some applicants that have older CCC-902s may require a new CCC-902 Our office will let you know if you need a CCC-902 and provide it to you for signature.
-
Form AD-1026, highly erodible land conservation (sometimes referred to as Highly Erodible Land Conservation (HELC) and Wetland Conservation (WC) Certification) for the MASC producer and applicable affiliated persons with farming interest.
- In order to receive payment, producers must certify to compliance with HELC and WC provisions as dictated by the 1985 Food Security Act (FoSA).
- Certification of compliance via the AD-1026 is required if there is not one already on file or if there have been certain changes in your operation that result in the necessity of a new filing.
- Producers growing an annually-tilled commodity on highly erodible land must be actively applying a conservation plan or system that meets the standards of USDA NRCS. If a plan is not already in place, NRCS will work with producers to create one at no cost.
Several New Jersey Counties have been declared as either primary or contiguous disaster areas using the Secretarial Disaster Designation process. Under this designation, if you have operations in any primary or contiguous county, you are eligible to apply for low interest Emergency Loans.
Farmers in the following counties are eligible for Emergency Loans:
-
Secretarial Designation S5908 - New Jersey
- For Drought beginning on 5/19/2024
- New Jersey Primary Counties: Gloucester, Salem
- New Jersey contiguous counties: Atlantic, Camden, Cumberland
- Loan application deadline: 08/11/2025
-
Secretarial Designation S5907 - New Jersey
- For Drought beginning on 6/05/2024
- New Jersey Primary Counties: Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland
- New Jersey contiguous counties: Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Ocean, Salem
- Loan application deadline: 08/11/2025
-
Secretarial Designation S5906 - New Jersey
- For Drought and Excessive Heat beginning on 6/01/2024
- New Jersey Primary Counties: Burlington, Camden, Ocean
- New Jersey contiguous counties: Atlantic, Gloucester, Mercer, Monmouth
- Loan application deadline: 08/11/2025
-
Secretarial Designation S5905 - New Jersey
- For Drought and Excessive Heat beginning on 6/25/2024
- New Jersey Primary Counties: Hunterdon, Somerset
- New Jersey contiguous counties: Mercer, Middlesex, Morris, Union, Warren
- Loan application deadline: 08/11/2025
-
Secretarial Designation S5875 - New York
- For Hurricane Debby from 08/05/2024 - 08/10/2024
- New Jersey contiguous counties: Sussex, Passaic
- Loan application deadline: 07/28/2025
-
Secretarial Designation S5889 - Pennsylvania
- For Drought beginning on 11/19/2024
- New Jersey contiguous counties: Gloucester
- Loan application deadline: 07/25/2025
-
Secretarial Designation S5872 - New Jersey
- For Excessive Rain and High Winds beginning on 07/16/2024
- New Jersey Primary Counties: Sussex
- New Jersey contiguous counties: Morris, Passaic, Warren
- Loan application deadline: 07/15/2025
-
Secretarial Designation S5871 - New Jersey
- For Excessive Heat beginning on 06/01/2024
- New Jersey Primary Counties: Morris, Sussex, Warren
- New Jersey contiguous counties: Essex, Hunterdon, Passaic, Somerset, Union
- Loan application deadline: 07/15/2025
-
Administrator's Designation N1779 - New Jersey
- For Excessive Rain and High Winds beginning on 07/16/2024
- New Jersey Primary Counties: Hunterdon, Somerset
- New Jersey contiguous counties: Mercer, Middlesex, Morris, Union, Warren
- Loan application deadline: 05/27/2025
-
Secretarial Designation S5785 - Delaware
- For Drought and Excessive Heat beginning on 06/01/2024
- New Jersey contiguous counties: Cumberland, Gloucester, Salem
- Loan application deadline: 05/27/2025
Emergency loans help you recover from production and physical losses due to drought, flooding and other natural disasters or quarantine.
You have eight months from the date of the declaration to apply for emergency loan assistance. FSA will consider each loan application on its own merits, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability. You can borrow up to 100 percent of actual production or physical losses, to a maximum amount of $500,000.
For more information about emergency loans, contact your local USDA Service Center or visit fsa.usda.gov.
Top of page
|
Join the New Jersey Farm Service Agency for a listening session on Tuesday February 4, 2025 at the New Jersey Agriculture Convention, hosted by the New Jersey Vegetable Growers Association.
Note: We are currently working to identify if pesticide credits may be awarded to attendees.
Session Agenda
- 2:00 P.M. - How Can USDA FSA Help You? All Things NAP If pesticide credits are awarded, the session will be renamed to: All Things NAP & How Following BMPs and Failure to Maintain Spray Records Effects Your Loss Claim - Aly Dyson, Program Specialist, USDA, FSA
- 2:30 P.M. - FSA Farm Loan Programs (FLP) & the New Enhancing FLP Rule - Shannon Barton, Farm Loan Chief, USDA/FSA
- 3:00 P.M. - Why COC Elections & Acreage Reporting are Important - Lindsay Caragher, Deputy State Executive, Director, USDA/FSA
- 3:30 P.M - How Can USDA FSA Help You? Marketing Assistance Loans & Farm Storage Facility Loans Overview - Sarah Lally, Program Specialist, USDA/FSA
|
Top of page
|
If you’re an orchardist or nursery tree grower who experienced losses from natural disasters, you must submit a TAP application either 90 calendar days after the disaster event or the date when the loss is apparent.
TAP provides financial assistance to help you replant or rehabilitate eligible trees, bushes and vines damaged by natural disasters.
Eligible tree types include trees, bushes or vines that produce an annual crop for commercial purposes. Nursery trees include ornamental, fruit, nut and Christmas trees that are produced for commercial sale. Trees used for pulp or timber are ineligible.
To qualify for TAP, orchardists must suffer a qualifying tree, bush or vine loss in excess of 15 percent mortality from an eligible natural disaster, plus an adjustment for normal mortality. The eligible trees, bushes or vines must have been owned when the natural disaster occurred; however, eligible growers are not required to own the land on which the eligible trees, bushes and vines were planted.
If the TAP application is approved, the eligible trees, bushes and vines must be replaced within 12 months from the date the application is approved. The cumulative total quantity of acres planted to trees, bushes or vines, for which you can receive TAP payments, cannot exceed 1,000 acres annually.
|
 |
|
| |
Subscribe to the New Jersey Farm Service Agency Calendar to receive USDA program deadlines and related information automatically on the calendar app on your device. To subscribe just scan the QR code above or click here. There is no cost to subscribe and you can unsubscribe at anytime.
|
|
Top of page
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call (866) 632-9992 (Toll-free Customer Service), (800) 877-8339 (Local or Federal relay), (866) 377-8642 (Relay voice users).
|
