USDA News - Lone Star State Edition - May 29, 2026
In This Issue:
The month of May is a time when we pause to say thank you to those that served our country and made the ultimate sacrifice for others. They made sure that we have freedom and national security, which includes food security. A country that cannot feed itself, is not an independent nation. Thank you to the men and women that made sure we have the protection to farm and ranch without fear of tyranny.
For many farmers in Texas we are planting, getting ready to plant, or preparing to harvest. With 254 counties, 231,000 farms and ranches across two time-zones we are always feeding, fueling, and clothing the nation and the world. Thank you to those few who do so much for so many. That is why President Trump and Secretary Rollins continually look for ways to assist the American Farmer.
On July 4, 2025, President Trump signed into law the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill. There were many provisions in the law that help producers, including one that is rolling out on June 1,2026. Secretary Rollins announced that eligible landowners will have the opportunity to adjust base acres. Eligible landowners can review and consider base acreage increases from June ,1 until August 31, 2026.
These Base Allocation Summaries can be accessed online at fsa.usda.gov/arc-plc using a Login.gov account. Landowners who do not currently have a Login.gov account are encouraged to contact their local FSA county office to obtain their Base Allocation Summary. This is the first time since 2002 that individuals will have the chance to add base acres, up to 30 million acres nationwide.
Secretary Rollins has recently announced several Texas Counties that have experienced natural disasters are eligible for assistance through emergency loans. That information is available on-line at https://www.fsa.usda.gov/news-events.
This newsletter has information about several important items in addition to what is mentioned above. With the President and the Secretary putting Farmers First, we have exciting things in the pipeline to help deliver programs faster and more efficiently.
Thank you to all our employees who work tirelessly to deliver assistance to our farmers and ranchers.
Sincerely,
Dan J. Hunter, FSA State Executive Director -Texas
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We are quickly headed into the long, hot summer. The temperatures are rising, the days are getting longer, and the corn is growing taller. This is a busy time of year for Texas’ farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners.
Although some areas of the state have been receiving much needed rain, many parts of the state are still suffering from drought conditions fueling wildfire risk in the state. There have been numerous wildfires in the Panhandle affecting farmers and ranchers. NRCS is always available to provide technical assistance during the recovery process by assisting producers in planning conservation practices on affected farms and ranches. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program can help producers implement conservation practices on land impacted by natural disasters.
Hurricane season begins on June 1. USDA is encouraging producers to prepare their operations for potential impact and explore recovery resources. There is more information on this in a subsequent article in the newsletter.
NRCS Texas will be hosting the State Technical Committee Meeting on June 24, 2026, at 9:00 am at the USDA Agricultural Research Service, Grassland Soil and Water Research Laboratory located at 808 E. Blackland Road, in Temple, Texas. For more information, contact State Resource Conservationist Charles Kneuper at 254-742-9873 or by email at charles.kneuper@usda.gov.
NRCS Texas recently highlighted two agricultural operations in Texas, Nors Cattle Company in Hill County and Pine Island in Angelina County.
NRCS remains steadfast in our commitment to serving our customers. To learn more about NRCS programs and services, contact your local USDA Service Center.
Sincerely,
Kristy Oates, NRCS State Conservationist - Texas
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced eligible landowners have from June 1 until Aug. 31, 2026 to review and consider base acre increases on farms enrolled in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs, as authorized by provisions included in the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
Signed into law by President Donald J. Trump on July 4, 2025, the Act provides landowners with the opportunity to update and increase base acres in preparation for enrollment in ARC and PLC beginning with the 2026 and future crop years. Nationwide, up to 30 million new base acres can be added by eligible farms.
ARC and PLC are cornerstone commodity safety net programs that provide financial protection to farmers when market prices or revenues decline. These programs help producers manage risk and maintain the economic viability of their operations amid challenging market and weather conditions.
FSA began notifying eligible landowners, by direct mail, that Base Allocation Summaries outlining potential base acre updates will be available for review beginning June 1, 2026. These Base Allocation Summaries can be accessed online at fsa.usda.gov/arc-plc using a Login.gov account. Landowners who do not currently have a Login.gov account are encouraged to contact their local FSA county office to obtain their Base Allocation Summary beginning June 1, 2026. The Base Allocation Summary should be reviewed and any necessary actions completed by Monday, Aug. 31, 2026.
Farm operators often maintain detailed historical planting records. Early communication between landowners and farm operators will ensure the Base Allocation Summary is accurate and all necessary actions are completed by the deadline.
To be eligible for new base acres, a current covered commodity must have been planted or prevented from being planted on the farm during the 2019 through 2023 crop years. The farm’s average planted and prevented planted acres during that period must exceed the total existing base acres for all covered commodities in effect on Sept. 30, 2024, excluding unassigned base acres. FSA farm total base acres cannot exceed the farm’s total cropland acres. If eligible requests exceed the nationwide cap of 30 million acres, USDA will apply an across-the-board, prorated reduction to all approved new base acres.
For additional information, producers should contact their local FSA county office or visit U.S. Department of Agriculture online at fsa.usda.gov/state-offices.
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USDA is here to help you prepare for and recover from hurricanes and related tropical weather activity. The 2026 hurricane season begins on June 1, and USDA is asking producers to prepare their operations for potential impacts and explore recovery resources.
USDA’s Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Risk Management Agency offer a suite of disaster assistance programs to help you recover from the impacts of natural disasters.
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The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) announced a significant expansion of the Hurricane Insurance Protection-Wind Index (HIP-WI) endorsement and the Tropical Storm Option (TS), making them available to producers whose crops are insured through the Written Agreement process. This change is effective for the 2027 and succeeding crop years.
Written Agreements are a critical tool that allow producers to obtain Federal crop insurance for crops or practices not yet covered in a given county. By enabling HIP-WI access on Written Agreement policies, RMA is ensuring that these producers, who often grow the nation’s most diverse and economically significant specialty crops, can access the same level of catastrophic weather protection as their neighbors.
This change also reinforces RMA’s commitment to expand coverage options for specialty crop producers. Most recently, the need was highlighted by agents during specialty crop roundtable meetings convened by RMA Administrator Pat Swanson. RMA listened and acted with urgency to deliver this enhanced protection.
Prior to this change, producers in counties where a crop, type or practice was only insurable by Written Agreement could not attach HIP-WI to their policies. Under the updated policy language, producers with a Written Agreement can add HIP-WI coverage, providing them with the same hurricane and tropical storm deductible protection available to other producers in the area.
About HIP-WI
HIP-WI covers a portion of the deductible of the underlying crop insurance policy when a county, or adjacent county, is within the area of sustained hurricane-force winds. The coverage provided by HIP-WI can be combined with the Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO) and the Stacked Income Protection Plan (STAX) when acreage is also insured by a companion policy. TS is an option to the HIP-WI endorsement that provides coverage for tropical storm weather events as defined by the Hurricane Data Provisions (HDP).
The HIP-WI endorsement is available for more than 70 different crops in select counties of Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, and West Virginia.
HIP-WI coverage must be purchased by the sales closing date (SCD) of a producer's underlying policy. Sales closing dates vary by crop and location. Therefore, producers should contact an agent to verify the SCD for a crop and county. More information about HIP-WI, including available counties and crops, can be found on RMA's website.
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Using the correct signature when doing business with FSA can save time and prevent a delay in program benefits.
The following are FSA signature guidelines:
- Married individuals must sign their given name.
- Example—Mary Doe and John Doe are married. When signing FSA forms, each must use their given name, and may not sign with the name of their spouse. Mrs. Mary Doe may not sign documents as Mrs. John Doe. For Farm Loan Purposes, spouses may not sign on behalf of the other as an authorized signatory, a signature will be needed for each. For a minor, FSA requires the minor's signature and one from the minor’s parent. There are certain exceptions where a minor’s signature may be accepted without obtaining the signature of one of the parents. Despite minority status, a youth executing a promissory note for a Youth Loan will incur full personal liability for the debt and will sign individually.
Note: By signing a document with a minor, the parent is liable for actions of the minor and may be liable for refunds, liquidated damages, or other penalties, etc.
When signing on one’s behalf the signature must agree with the name typed or printed on the form or be a variation that does not cause the name and signature to be in disagreement. Example - John W. Smith is on the form. The signature may be John W. Smith or J.W. Smith or J. Smith. Or Mary J. Smith may be signed as Mrs. Mary Joe Smith, M.J. Smith, Mary Smith, etc.
FAXED signatures will be accepted for certain forms and other documents provided the acceptable program forms are approved for FAXED signatures. Producers are responsible for the successful transmission and receipt of FAXED information.
Examples of documents not approved for FAXED signatures include:
- Promissory note
- Assignment of payment
- Joint payment authorizationAcknowledgement of commodity certificate purchase
Spouses may sign documents on behalf of each other for FSA and CCC programs in which either spouse has an interest, unless written notification denying a spouse this authority has been provided to the county office.
Spouses cannot sign on behalf of each other as an authorized signatory for partnerships, joint ventures, corporations or other similar entities. Likewise, a spouse cannot sign a document on behalf of the other in order to affirm the eligibility of oneself.
Any member of a general partnership can sign on behalf of the general partnership and bind all members unless the Articles of Partnership are more restrictive. Spouses may sign on behalf of each other’s individual interest in a partnership, unless notification denying a spouse that authority is provided to the county office. Acceptable signatures for general partnerships, joint ventures, corporations, estates, and trusts must consist of an indicator “by” or “for” the individual’s name, individual’s name and capacity, or individual’s name, capacity, and name of entity.
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Farm Service Agency (FSA) borrowers with farms located in designated primary or contiguous disaster areas who are unable to make their scheduled FSA loan payments should consider the Disaster Set-Aside (DSA) program.
DSA is available to producers who suffered losses as a result of a natural disaster and relieves immediate and temporary financial stress. FSA is authorized to consider setting aside the portion of a payment/s needed for the operation to continue on a viable scale.
Borrowers must have at least two years left on the term of their loan in order to qualify.
Borrowers have eight months from the date of the disaster designation to submit a complete application. The application must include a written request for DSA signed by all parties liable for the debt along with production records and financial history for the operating year in which the disaster occurred. FSA may request additional information from the borrower in order to determine eligibility.
All farm loans must be current or less than 90 days past due at the time the DSA application is complete. Borrowers may not set aside more than one installment on each loan.
The amount set-aside, including interest accrued on the principal portion of the set-aside, is due on or before the final due date of the loan.
For more information, contact your local USDA Service Center or visit fsa.usda.gov.
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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.
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USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) offers disaster assistance and low-interest loan programs to assist you in your recovery efforts following wildfires or other qualifying natural disasters.
Available programs and loans include:
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Non-Insured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) - provides financial assistance to producers of non-insurable crops when low yields, loss of inventory, or prevented planting occur due to natural disasters including excessive wind and qualifying drought (includes native grass for grazing).
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Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) - offers payments to eligible producers for livestock death losses in excess of normal mortality due to adverse weather.
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Tree Assistance Program (TAP) – provides assistance to eligible orchardists and nursery tree growers for qualifying tree, shrub and vine losses due to natural disasters including excessive wind and qualifying drought.
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Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) - provides emergency relief for losses due to feed or water shortages, disease, adverse weather, or other conditions, which are not adequately addressed by other disaster programs.
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Emergency Loan Program – available to producers with agriculture operations located in a county under a primary or contiguous Presidential or Secretarial disaster designation. These low interest loans help producers recover from production and physical losses.
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Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) - provides emergency funding for farmers and ranchers to rehabilitate land severely damaged by natural disasters; includes fence loss.
For more information on these programs, contact your local USDA Service Center or visit fsa.usda.gov/disaster.
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Each state has a dedicated Beginning Farmer and Rancher (BFR) team to help producers with less than 10 years’ experience learn about available programs and services. Floyd Nauls is the Texas Coordinator. He is a State Outreach Coordinator with the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Floyd is the team lead and will assist in answering questions from farmers and ranchers and provide direction on "Getting Started" with USDA. If you are considering starting a farm operation they can also refer you to external resources and organizations to help you learn more about business planning, starting a farm, and getting USDA program ready. He can be reached at floyd.nauls@usda.gov.
The other members of the team are Champions. They help Floyd respond to questions, provide support to county offices and plan outreach events specifically for beginning farmers and ranchers. Your Texas Champions are: Alejo Sierra, an Outreach Coordinator with Farm Service Agency, Kristal Jackson, a Risk Management Specialist with Risk Management Agency, and Michael Self, a Program Director with Rural Development.
For more beginning farmer and rancher resources, visit the website at https://www.farmers.gov/newfarmers.
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Join USDA's Cultivating Futures webinar, where the Farm Service Agency and the Natural Resources Conservation Service will share information about farm loans, conservation, disaster, and price support programs available for farmers and ranchers. Beginning farmers and ranchers are encouraged to participate and explore how USDA can support starting and expanding farms and ranches.
Cultivating Futures will take place virtually on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, at 6:00 pm CDT. The webinar is free to attend and open to the public.
If you need to request an accommodation, please contact Joshua Coleman at 979-680-5252 or joshua.coleman@usda.gov by Friday, June 12, 2026, to request accommodations (e.g., an interpreter, translator, seating arrangements, etc.) or materials in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape – captioning, etc.).
Register online to attend.
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