Joint Newsletter - June 2026
In This Issue:
The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the appointment of Colton L. Buckley as Chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the nation’s primary private lands conservation agency. Buckley, who currently serves as Associate Chief of NRCS, brings extensive leadership experience in conservation and agriculture policy to the role.
As Associate Chief, he has overseen the agency’s financial and technical assistance programs, management and strategy, science and technology, soil science and resource assessment deputy areas, and partnerships division. Previously, he served as Chief of Staff for NRCS and as Chief Executive Officer of the National Association of Resource Conservation and Development Councils.
Raised on his grandparents’ cattle ranch outside Gatesville, Texas, Buckley has deep roots in production agriculture, and advocacy for practical, producer-led conservation solutions. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Services and Development from Tarleton State University and a Master of Arts in Communication from Liberty University. His career includes roles at national and local conservation organizations, rural economic development entities, and service on multiple advisory boards—including the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents, to which he was appointed by Governor Rick Perry.
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced payment rates and the enrollment period for the Assistance for Specialty Crops Farmers (ASCF) program. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will issue $1.625 billion in payments to eligible specialty crop producers in response to elevated input costs and market disruptions resulting from foreign competitors engaging in unfair trade practices that impeded specialty crop exports. Producers who have a Login.gov account can access and submit their pre-filled application starting June 1, 2026. Producers who do not have a Login.gov account or prefer to enroll in person at their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office can request their prefilled application beginning June 8, 2026. The ASCF enrollment period closes on Aug. 7, 2026.
These payments are authorized under the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act and are administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA). Specialty crop payments are intended to provide financial support to allow producers to pay for production and marketing inputs in the face of significant market disruptions during the 2025 growing season.
Pre-filled applications will be available online to producers with a Login.gov account who timely filed their 2025 crop acreage report for eligible specialty crops. Starting on June 1, 2026, producers who have a Login.gov account can access and submit their pre-filled application from fsa.usda.gov/ascf. Beginning June 8, 2026, producers can request their pre-filled ASCF application from their FSA county office.
The deadline to submit completed ASCF applications is Aug. 7, 2026. Producers can complete their applications online or submit them to their FSA county office. Payments will be issued as applications are submitted and approved, beginning as early as the first week of signup.
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 ASCF online, producers can start by visiting fsa.usda.gov/ascf 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 ASCF, allowing them to view, complete, certify, and submit their application as well as track their application and payment status. For assistance creating a Login.gov account, visit login.gov/help.
Specialty crop acres of eligible crops reported to FSA as an initial, double crop, repeat crop, or subsequent crop by April 24, 2026, will be used to determine ASCF program payments. Acreage that is reported as a cover crop, prevented planted, or with an intended use of grazing, left standing, green manure, silage, forage, volunteer, or experimental will not be used to determine ASCF program payments.
For a list of eligible specialty crops visit fsa.usda.gov/ascf. Specialty crops grown in a controlled environment are not eligible, except for mushrooms.
Crop insurance linkage is not required; however, USDA strongly urges producers to take advantage of the new risk management tools provided in the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, to best protect against future price risk and volatility.
FSA used national average revenue per crop as a metric for developing the ASCF program payment categories and payment rates listed below. For a full list of eligible crops under each category, visit fsa.usda.gov/ascf.
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Tier 1 - $650 per acre Includes eligible specialty crops with an average annual revenue of more than $10,000 per acre.
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Tier 2 - $225 per acre Includes eligible specialty crops with an average annual revenue of more than $2,300 per acre and up to $10,000 per acre.
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Tier 3 - $65 per acre Includes eligible specialty crops with an average annual revenue of up to $2,300 per acre.
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Beans and Peas - $25 per acre Includes all types of beans and peas that were not eligible for the FBA program.
The ASCF payment limitation is $250,000.
If you’ve ever wondered how native plants go from wild prairies to conservation superheroes, meet one of many people behind the magic in Missouri: Ron Cordsiemon, Missouri’s Plant Materials Center (PMC) manager and resident plant-powered problem solver. With more than 25 years at USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Ron has turned his early passion for wildlife—sparked while baling hay, running equipment, and summers with the Missouri Department of Conservation—into a career rooted in developing plant-based conservation solutions. Today, he leads the research and operations that help conservation thrive across the region. In this edition of Ask the Expert, Ron shares the science, stories and people behind native plant conservation.
See what Ron has to say about the Plant Materials Center and how they support conservation.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) in Hawaii County is accepting applications for the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) to address damages from the earthquake disaster event that occurred on May 22, 2026. ECP provides cost-share and technical assistance to producers to restore farmland to pre-disaster conditions following a qualifying natural disaster. ECP signup begins on June 15, 2026, and ends on July 17, 2026. Approved ECP applicants can receive up to 75% of the cost of the approved restoration activity with a maximum cost share of $500,000 per natural disaster event.
Approved ECP practices include:
- Removing debris from farmland
- Grading, shaping and releveling
- Replacing or repairing permanent fence
- Restoring conservation structures
Check with FSA before beginning work to ensure required compliance measures are complete to be eligible for cost share payment. ECP cost-share assistance can provide advance payments for up to 25% of the total allowable cost for all ECP practices before the restoration is carried out. The advance payment must be spent within 30 days.
Producers who lease federally owned or managed lands, including tribal trust land, as well as state land, are eligible to participate in ECP.
Conservation concerns present on the land prior to the qualifying natural disaster event are not eligible for ECP assistance.
Eligibility and Environmental Requirements
Producers with damage from qualifying natural disaster events must apply for ECP assistance before beginning reconstructive work. FSA’s environmental compliance review process is required to be completed before any actions are taken. A waiver can be requested for necessary activities that are taken as emergency action to prevent further loss. Producers who apply after reconstructive work has been completed are at risk of not qualifying for ECP.
FSA county committees will evaluate applications based on an on-site inspection of the damaged land, taking into consideration the type and extent of the damage. An on-site inspection does not guarantee that cost-share funding will be provided.
More Information
To learn more about ECP, producers can contact the Hawaii County FSA Office at 808-933-8334 or visit https://www.fsa.usda.gov/resources/disaster-recovery/emergency-conservation-program-ecp
The Farm Service Agency (FSA) offers two types of set-aside programs to assist FSA direct loan borrowers. The set-aside programs are intended to help distressed borrowers as well as borrowers impacted by natural disasters.
Disaster Set-Aside Program
The Disaster Set-Aside Program (DSA) assists existing FSA direct loan borrowers who have been impacted by natural disasters. The DSA program provides short-term financial relief by allowing eligible borrowers to delay FSA direct loan payments that are due this year or next year (but not both). You may delay up to one full annual payment per loan and the delayed payment will be moved to the end of the loan term. You will not be required to pay this set-aside installment until the loan’s final due date.
The principal portion of the amount set-aside will continue to accrue interest at your loan’s existing interest rate.
To be eligible, borrowers must have operated a farm in a county declared a disaster area or a contiguous county at the time of the disaster. In addition, the borrower’s inability to make their upcoming payment must be due to the disaster.
To apply for DSA, borrowers must provide their local USDA Service Center with a letter requesting DSA, which must be signed by all parties liable for the debt. The letter must be provided to your local Service Center within eight months of the disaster declaration date. The application process also includes providing your actual production, income, and expense records for the last three years. FSA may also request additional information as needed to make an eligibility decision.
Below is a list of the current disaster designations in your area and their respective application deadlines:
Current Disaster Designations for the State of Hawaii
Date Declared Code Disaster Description Final Date to Apply for DSA
04/07/2026 M4909 Low Weather Systems 12/07/2026
Current Disaster Designations for Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI)
Date Declared Code Disaster Description Final Date to Apply for DSA
04/23/2026 M4910 Super Typhoon Sinlaku 12/23/2026
Distressed Borrower Set-Aside Program
FSA Direct Farm Loan Program borrowers whose loans were closed before Sept. 25, 2024, may be eligible for assistance under the Distressed Borrower Set-Aside Program (DBSA). Similar to DSA, DBSA also provides short-term financial relief by allowing eligible borrowers to delay FSA direct loan payments that are due this year or next year (but not both). You may delay up to one full annual payment per loan and the delayed payment will be moved to the end of the loan term. You will not be required to pay this set-aside installment until the loan’s final due date.
An increased benefit with DBSA is that the principal portion of the set-aside will accrue interest at a reduced rate of 0.125% rather than your loan’s existing interest rate.
To be eligible for DBSA, the borrower must demonstrate financial distress, but their inability to make the upcoming payment does not need to be due to a disaster.
The DBSA application process is similar to DSA as borrowers must provide their local USDA Service Center with a letter requesting DBSA, which must be signed by all parties liable for the debt. The application process also includes providing your actual production, income, and expense records for the last three years. FSA may also request additional information as needed to make an eligibility decision.
Important Factors for Both DSA and DBSA:
FSA direct loan borrowers are not able to obtain more than one set-aside per loan. Borrowers also cannot obtain both a DSA and DBSA simultaneously on the same loan. In addition, FSA direct loans with less than two years remaining are not eligible for a DSA or DBSA. Other eligibility requirements apply; we encourage you to contact your local Service Center for more information.
Both DSA and DBSA are intended to provide short-term relief for situations where borrowers anticipate the ability to resume paying their full annual installment(s) in the following year. If you require a more long-term form of financial relief, FSA has other potential options available through primary loan servicing (PLS).
For more information on DSA, DBSA, or PLS, please contact your the FSA County Service Center at the phone numbers below. You may also visit fsa.usda.gov.
Additional information, eligibility criteria and program limitations may be found within the Disaster Set-Aside and Distressed Borrower Set-Aside Program fact sheets.
Farm Operating - Direct 5.000%
Farm Operating - Microloan 5.000%
Farm Ownership - Direct 5.875%
Farm Ownership - Microloan 5.875%
Farm Ownership - Direct, Joint Financing 3.875%
Farm Ownership - Down Payment 1.875%
Emergency Loan - Amount of Actual Loss 3.750%
Effective as of June 1, 2026
July 31, 2026 - Deadline to apply for Emergency Conservation Program in the State of Hawaii
August 27,2026 - Deadline to apply for Emergency Conservation Program in Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas
March 1, 2027 – Deadline to apply for 2026 Livestock Forage Losses for Hawaii and Maui County
USDA in Hawaii and Pacific Basin
Service Center Locator
Acting State Executive Director - Arthur Keyes
Natural Resources Conservation Service
State Director - J.B. Martin
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