Indiana FSA State Newsletter - April 15, 2026
In This Edition of the Indiana FSA State Newsletter:
The Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) program provides $11 billion in one-time bridge payments to row crop producers in response to temporary trade market disruptions and increased production costs. The FBA enrollment period closes April 17, 2026.
These bridge payments are authorized under the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act and are administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA). Bridge payments are intended in part to aid farmers until historic investments from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), including reference prices which are set to increase between 10-21% for major covered commodities and will reach eligible farmers after Oct. 1, 2026.
How to Apply
Pre-filled applications will be available online to producers with a Login.gov account who timely filed their 2025 crop acreage report for eligible commodities. Producers who have a Login.gov account can access and submit their pre-filled application from fsa.usda.gov/fba. Additionally, producers can also request their pre-filled FBA application from their FSA county office.
April 17, 2026, is the deadline to submit completed FBA applications. Producers can complete FBA applications online or submit to their FSA county office.
Login.gov
Login.gov is the public’s one account for government. Producers can use one account and password for secure, private access to participating government agencies, including FSA.
To apply for FBA online, producers can start by visiting fsa.usda.gov/fba. to create their Login.gov account. Producers who have an existing Login.gov account, can work with FSA using their existing account.
With a secure Login.gov account, producers can be amongst the first to apply for FBA allowing them to view, certify, and submit their application as well as track their application and payment status.
For assistance creating a Login.gov account, visit https://login.gov/help/.
Eligibility
The following commodities are eligible for FBA: Barley, Chickpeas, Corn, Cotton, Lentils, Oats, Peanuts, Peas, Rice, Sorghum, Soybeans, Wheat, Canola, Crambe, Flax, Mustard, Rapeseed, Safflower, Sesame, and Sunflower.
All intended uses for FBA eligible commodities are eligible excluding grazing, experimental, green manure, left standing, or cover crops. Initial acres, double crop acres, and subsequently planted acres, are eligible. Prevent plant acres are not eligible.
Crop insurance linkage is not required; however, USDA strongly urges producers to take advantage of the new risk management tools provided for in OBBBA to best protect against future price risk and volatility.
Payment Calculation
In December, USDA released the payment rates by commodity. FBA payment rates are based on 2025 planted acres, Economic Research Service cost of production, and the World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimate Report.
More information on FBA is available online at fsa.usda.gov/fba. Producers can also contact their local FSA county office.
Deadline to apply is May 1, 2026
The first Continuous CRP batching period closed on March 20, 2026. Since acreage remains available, FSA is opening a second batching period and will consider Continuous CRP offers submitted by interested agricultural producers and landowners between March 23, 2026, and May 1, 2026. Offers to re-enroll expiring CRP continuous acreage will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. New acreage offered in continuous CRP practices will be considered for acceptance on a first-come, first-serve basis if they support USDA conservation priorities including but not limited to practices that address water quality, such as filter strips and grass waterways, and practices that restore native ecosystems or target specific resource concerns.
Continuous CRP participants voluntarily offer environmentally sensitive lands, typically smaller parcels than offered through General CRP including wetlands, riparian buffers, and varying wildlife habitats. In return, they receive annual rental payments and cost-share assistance to establish long-term, resource-conserving vegetative cover.
CRP is USDA’s flagship conservation program, providing financial and technical support to agricultural producers and landowners who place unproductive or marginal cropland under contract for 10-15 years and who agree to voluntarily convert the land to beneficial vegetative cover to improve water quality, prevent soil erosion and support wildlife habitat. The Continuing Appropriations, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Extensions Act, 2026, extends FSA’s authority to administer CRP through Sept. 30, 2026.
Interested producers should contact their local FSA county office.
NAP provides financial assistance to you for crops that aren’t eligible for crop insurance to protect against lower yields or crops unable to be planted due to natural disasters including freeze, hail, excessive moisture, excessive wind or hurricanes, flood, excessive heat and qualifying drought (includes native grass for grazing), among others.
To receive payment, you had to purchase NAP coverage for 2026 crops and file a notice of loss the earlier of 15 days of the occurrence of the disaster or when losses become apparent or 15 days of the final harvest date. For hand-harvested crops and certain perishable crops, you must notify FSA within 72 hours of when a loss becomes apparent.
Eligible crops must be commercially produced agricultural commodities for which crop insurance is not available, including perennial grass forage and grazing crops, fruits, vegetables, mushrooms, floriculture, ornamental nursery, aquaculture, turf grass, ginseng, honey, syrup, bioenergy, and industrial crops.
For more information on NAP, producers are encouraged to contact their FSA County Office.
During the last two years of your Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contract, expiring CRP acreage may be offered through the Transition Incentives Program (TIP).
If you do not plan to re-enroll your CRP acres that expire in 2026 or 2027, TIP may provide up to two additional annual rental payments after the contract expires, if the landowner sells or rents the land to a beginning or veteran farmer or rancher. New landowners or renters must use sustainable grazing or farming methods as they return the land to production. TIP provides an opportunity to support beginning or veteran farmers and ranchers while maintaining conservation benefits.
The deadline to submit a TIP offer is Aug. 14, 2026.
For more information or to submit a TIP offer, please contact your local FSA office or visit the TIP webpage.
All producers are encouraged to contact their local FSA office for more information on the final planting date for specific crops. The final planting dates vary by crop, planting period and county so please contact your local FSA office for a list of county-specific planting deadlines. The timely planting of a crop, by the final planting date, may prevent loss of program benefits.
The USDA is launching a new online portal to streamline reporting of transactions involving U.S. agricultural land by foreign persons, which can include businesses and governments, under the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 (AFIDA). The new online portal is part of a broader effort to strengthen enforcement and protect American farmland as USDA continues its implementation of the National Farm Security Action Plan.
The new online portal is available at afida.landmark.usda.gov. Users can access the portal with Login.gov, a sign in service that provides secure online access to participate in certain government programs and reporting requirements.
The new digital portal will gather the same information found on the current form FSA-153 and those subject to filing may still file using the current FSA-153 hard copy form if desired. However, filers should not duplicate filings by using both submission options.
About the National Farm Security Action Plan
One of the key tenets of USDA’s National Farm Security Action Plan (PDF, 1.2 MB) is strengthening processes around disclosure of foreign persons who have an interest in U.S. farmland. This historic plan, announced in July 2025, calls for aggressive implementation of reforms to the AFIDA process including improved verification and monitoring of collected AFIDA data. In addition to the new portal, USDA published an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for AFIDA in December 2025.
About AFIDA
The new portal is part of USDA’s efforts to streamline its process for electronic submission and retention of AFIDA disclosures, as initially required by the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023. Today USDA also shared its annual AFIDA report for 2024 with Congress, which is available online. The report lists foreign holdings of U.S. agricultural land as 46 million acres, as of December 31, 2024 and includes a section on land held and acquired by China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea in recent years. The data obtained from AFIDA disclosures are used in the preparation of an annual report to Congress, which is published online.
The AFIDA regulations define the term “foreign person” and specifies the information that must be included in the report. AFIDA focuses on foreign persons who hold direct or indirect interest in the agricultural land, provided those foreign persons with an indirect interest have “significant interest or substantial control” in the direct interest holder.
There are options for Farm Service Agency (FSA) loan customers during financial stress. If you are a borrower who is unable to make payments on a loan, contact your local FSA Farm Loan Manager to learn about your options.
Join NRCS Chief Aubrey J.D. Bettencourt as she “Dishes the Dirt” on how NRCS is ensuring that the agency’s programs and practice standards are keeping up with farming needs now and in the future.
NRCS is reconnecting with its core mission – getting into the field to deliver hands-on, personalized support to farmers while embracing innovation and science‑based approaches through programs like the Regenerative Pilot Program and Conservation Innovation Grants to help farmers invest in their working lands while increasing the competitiveness of American agriculture.
Watch the video now.
Marketing Assistance Loans (MALs) and Loan Deficiency Payments (LDPs) provide financing and marketing assistance for wheat, feed grains, soybeans, and other oilseeds, pulse crops, rice, peanuts, cotton, wool and honey. MALs provide you with interim financing after harvest to help you meet cash flow needs without having to sell your commodities when market prices are typically at harvest-time lows. A producer who is eligible to obtain a loan, but agrees to forgo the loan, may obtain an LDP if such a payment is available. Marketing loan provisions and LDPs are not available for sugar and extra-long staple cotton.
FSA is now accepting requests for 2025 MALs and LDPs for all eligible commodities after harvest. Requests for loans and LDPs shall be made on or before the final availability date for the respective commodities.
Commodity certificates are available to loan holders who have outstanding nonrecourse loans for wheat, upland cotton, rice, feed grains, pulse crops (dry peas, lentils, large and small chickpeas), peanuts, wool, soybeans and designated minor oilseeds. These certificates can be purchased at the posted county price (or adjusted world price or national posted price) for the quantity of commodity under loan, and must be immediately exchanged for the collateral, satisfying the loan. MALs redeemed with commodity certificates are not subject to Adjusted Gross Income provisions.
To be considered eligible for an LDP, you must have form CCC-633EZ, Page 1 on file at your local FSA Office before losing beneficial interest in the crop. Pages 2, 3 or 4 of the form must be submitted when payment is requested.
Marketing loan gains (MLGs) and loan deficiency payments (LDPs) are no longer subject to payment limitations, actively engaged in farming and cash-rent tenant rules.
Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) provisions state that if your total applicable three-year average AGI exceeds $900,000, then you’re not eligible to receive an MLG or LDP. You must have a valid CCC-941 on file to earn a market gain of LDP. The AGI does not apply to MALs redeemed with commodity certificate exchange.
For more information and additional eligibility requirements, producers are encouraged to contact their FSA County office.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) offers an online Debt Consolidation Tool, available through farmers.gov that allows agricultural producers to enter their farm operating debt and evaluate the potential savings that might be provided by obtaining a debt consolidation loan with USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) or a local lender.
A debt consolidation loan is a new loan used to pay off other existing operating loans or lines of credit that might have unreasonable rates and terms. By combining multiple eligible debts into a single, larger loan, borrowers may obtain more favorable payment terms such as a lower interest rate or lower payments. Consolidating debt may also provide farmers and ranchers additional cash flow flexibilities.
The Debt Consolidation Tool is a significant addition to FSA’s suite of improvements designed to modernize its Farm Loan Programs. The tool enhances customer service and increases opportunities for farmers and ranchers to achieve financial viability by helping them identify potential savings that could be reinvested in their farming and ranching operation, retirement accounts, or college savings accounts.
Producers can access the Debt Consolidation Tool by visiting farmers.gov/debt-consolidation-tool. The tool is built to run on modern browsers including Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or the Safari browser. Producers do not need to create a farmers.gov account or access the authenticated customer portal to use the tool.
USDA encourages producers to reach out to their local FSA farm loan staff to ensure they fully understand the wide range of loan and servicing options available to assist with starting, expanding, or maintaining their agricultural operation. To conduct business with FSA, please contact your local USDA Service Center.
Farm Operating Loans, Direct -- 4.750%
Farm Ownership Loans, Direct -- 5.750%
Limited Resource Loans -- 5.000%
Farm Ownership Loans, Down Payment -- 1.750%
Farm Ownership – Joint Financing -- 3.750%
Emergency Loans -- 3.750%
Farm Storage Facility Loan, 3 year -- 4.625%
Farm Storage Facility Loan, 5 year -- 3.750%
Farm Storage Facility Loan, 7 year -- 3.875%
Farm Storage Facility Loan, 10 year -- 4.125%
Farm Storage Facility Loan, 12 year -- 4.375%
Sugar Storage Facility Loans, 15 year -- 4.500%
Commodity Loans -- 4.625%
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April 1
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Primary Nesting Season Begins.
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April 17
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Deadline to apply for the Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) Program.
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April 17
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General CRP signup ends.
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April 24
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Deadline to ensure 2025 crop acreage reports are factual and accurate for eligible Assistance for Specialty Crop Farmers (ASCF) crops.
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April 30
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Supplemental Disaster Relief Program Stage 1 and Stage 2 Deadline.
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May 1
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Deadline to submit Continuous CRP offers for second batching period.
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May 25
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Memorial Day Holiday. USDA Service Centers Closed.
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June 2
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Deadline to apply for 2025 commodity loans and LDP's on feed grains, soybeans, pulse crops.
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June 19
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Juneteenth National Independence Day. USDA Service Center Closed.
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July 3
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Independence Day Holiday. USDA Service Center Closed.
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July 15
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Final Acreage Reporting Date for All Other Crops & CRP (Including Cucumbers Planted 5/10-6/15 in All Other Indiana Counties). Final Date to Report Production for the preceding Crop Year for Farms Enrolled in ARC-IC. Final Date to Report Production for the preceding Crop Year for Farms Enrolled in ARC-IC, Final Date to submit late-filed FSA-578 for 2025 for All Other Crops & CRP (Including Cucumbers Planted 5/10-6/15 in All Other Indiana Counties).
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August 1
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End of primary nesting season for CRP program purposes.
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August 1
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Deadline to Request farm reconstitutions and transfers for 2026.
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August 14
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Deadline for producers to request enrollment into Transition Incentives Program (TIP).
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Continuous
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Reports of Failed Acreage must be filed with the County Office before disposition of the crop.
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Continuous
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Reports of Prevented Planting Acreage must be filed with the County Office no later than 15 calendar days after the final planting date for that county and producers of hand-harvested crops and certain perishable crops must notify FSA within 72 hours of when a loss becomes apparent.
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Continous
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Contact FSA right away for notice of loss deadlines and disaster program requirements.
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Ongoing
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Inform your County office of bank account changes, if you have picked up or dropped any farms and inform the office of any cropland boundary changes.
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Ongoing
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Submit an Application for a Farm Storage Facility Loan.
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Continuous
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Submit an Application for FSA Farm Loans.
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Continuous
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Sign up for GovDelivery Newsletters, Bulletins and Indiana Press Releases (Subscribe to USDA Emails for Farmers | Farmers.gov)
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