In This Issue:
 |
As our county offices continue supporting producers through drought recovery and the start of hurricane season, I want to highlight an important opportunity across Florida: County Committee nominations are open for the 2026 election period. Just as staying proactive helps safeguard your operation during challenging weather, participating in county committee nominations and elections helps strengthen how FSA delivers programs in your community.
County Committees are made up of local agricultural producers, like you, who understand the challenges farmers and ranchers face. These elected members make decisions on a wide range of FSA programs including disaster assistance, commodity programs, and conservation practices. They also provide local insight and guide how national policies are carried out at the county level. Your local county committee gives producers a direct voice in how FSA serves your community.
If you or someone you know is interested in serving, I encourage you to consider submitting a nomination. Eligible producers may nominate themselves or another producer in their Local Administrative Area (LAA). Nomination forms must be postmarked or delivered to your county office by August 3, 2026. Our staff can help you determine your LAA, check eligibility, or provide the nomination forms.
Your participation, whether by nominating a candidate or encouraging others to get involved, helps ensure strong representation and a stronger agricultural community. Thank you for your continued commitment to empowering Florida’s agricultural community and ensuring producers have a voice in the work we do.
Marcinda Kester
State Executive Director Farm Service Agency, Florida & U.S. Virgin Islands
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.
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 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
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.
Eligibility
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.
Payment Calculation
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.
-
Tier 1 - $650 per acre Includes eligible specialty crops with an average annual revenue of more than $10,000 per acre.
-
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.
-
Tier 3 - $65 per acre Includes eligible specialty crops with an average annual revenue of up to $2,300 per acre.
-
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.
More information on ASCF is available online at fsa.usda.gov/ascf. Producers can also contact their local FSA county office.
The Hillsborough/Pinellas County Farm Service Agency (FSA) office in Plant City is hiring a full-time, temporary Program Analyst (PA)/Program Analyst Trainee. The deadline to apply is July 28, 2026.
Duties include general office activities supporting FSA programs administered at the field level. Successful applicants must be reliable, have a professional attitude and enjoy working with the public.
Salary Range: $32,435-$80,243
How to Apply
Send resumes to Elizabeth.williams@usda.gov
Applications must be submitted by close of business on July 28, 2026.
For more information or questions regarding this role, contact Elizabeth Williams at 352-418-6142.
About FSA
FSA helps America’s farmers and ranchers invest in, improve, and expand their agricultural operations through disaster assistance, farm loans, price support, income support, and conservation programs.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.
The Hamilton/Lafayette/Suwannee County Farm Service Agency (FSA) office in Live Oak is hiring a full-time, temporary Program Analyst (PA)/Program Analyst Trainee. The deadline to apply is July 28, 2026.
Duties include general office activities supporting FSA programs administered at the field level. Successful applicants must be reliable, have a professional attitude and enjoy working with the public.
Salary Range: $32,435-$80,243
How to Apply
Send resumes to travis.murray@usda.gov
Applications must be submitted by close of business on July 28, 2026.
For more information or questions regarding this role, contact Travis Murray at 386-362-2681 Ext 2.
About FSA
FSA helps America’s farmers and ranchers invest in, improve, and expand their agricultural operations through disaster assistance, farm loans, price support, income support, and conservation programs.
USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is maximizing disaster assistance support for producers by issuing a second Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP) payment to eligible producers who have approved program applications for losses due to natural disasters in calendar years 2023 and 2024.
USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) has already provided $6.7 billion in SDRP payments to eligible producers. Additionally, USDA is extending the program deadline to give producers and FSA more time to address any program application changes that could impact payments. The original April 30 deadline has been extended to Aug. 12, 2026, for SDRP Stage 1 and Stage 2.
Initial SDRP payments were factored at 35%, but after further analysis, USDA is increasing the payment factor to 70%, meaning producers with approved applications will receive an additional 35% of their calculated SDRP payment. Future SDRP payments will also be made using a 70% payment factor.
SDRP Stage 1
The first stage, announced in July 2025, remains available to producers who received an indemnity under crop insurance or the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) for eligible crop losses due to qualifying 2023 and 2024 natural disaster events.
SDRP Stage 2
Stage 2 of SDRP covers eligible crop, tree, bush and vine losses that were not covered under Stage One program provisions, including non-indemnified (shallow loss), uncovered and quality losses.
Eligibility
Eligible losses must be the result of natural disasters occurring in calendar years 2023 and/or 2024. These disasters include wildfires, hurricanes, floods, derechos, excessive heat, tornadoes, winter storms, freeze (including a polar vortex), smoke exposure, excessive moisture, qualifying drought, and related conditions.
To qualify for drought related losses, the loss must have occurred in a county rated by the U.S. Drought Monitor as having a D2 (severe drought) for eight consecutive weeks, D3 (extreme drought), or greater intensity level during the applicable calendar year.
FSA is establishing block grants with Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, and Massachusetts that cover crop losses; therefore, producers with losses on land physically located in these states are not eligible for SDRP program payments.
For more information on SDRP, please visit fsa.usda.gov/sdrp.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is expanding payment limitation and payment eligibility provisions that affect program payments including allowing for the equitable treatment of business entities. Additionally, producers will benefit from an increased payment limitation for certain programs, and a broader definition of farming income that will result in more exceptions to income limitations.
Payment Eligibility
Starting with the 2026 crop year, for payment eligibility purposes, FSA will treat applicable limited liability companies (LLCs) and S-Corporations (S-Corps), and other similar entities, as “pass through entities.” Each member of the qualified pass-through entity who meets actively engaged in farming criteria will help qualify the entity for expanded payments.
Previously, farm operations that were structured as an LLC or an S-Corp were limited to a single payment limitation, which varies by program. Now, partnerships, S-Corps, qualifying LLCs, and joint ventures or general partnerships will be treated the same.
For program year 2026 only, farm operations that are structured as LLCs or S-Corps or one of the new qualified pass-through entities must file updated farm operating plans with FSA for program year 2026 by Sept. 15, 2026. After program year 2026, FSA will continue to use June 1 as the date for determining ownership interest in an entity. Producers who have crop insurance or Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program coverage should contact their crop insurance agent or local FSA office before restructuring their farm operation to ensure appropriate timing for restructuring without impacting current insurance coverage.
Members of qualified pass-through entities must provide contributions and be engaged in farming for the entity to be considered actively engaged in farming.
An additional change allows members of all entity types to receive compensation for labor and management contributions and use the same contribution to qualify as “actively engaged in farming.” This update provides consistent treatment of member contributions across all entity types.
Payment Limitation and Attribution
Payment limitation changes include an increased payment limit for the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) program. Starting with crop year 2025, the ARC and PLC payment limit will increase from $125,000 to $155,000. This payment limit will be adjusted going forward annually based on inflation.
Payment limitations are the maximum amount that a person or legal entity can receive for any crop year, directly or indirectly, through certain USDA programs. The same maximum payment limitation that applied to joint ventures and general partnerships will apply to qualified pass-through entities.
The policy change to payment limitation calculations takes effect beginning with program year 2026 for all qualified pass-through entities.
Average Adjusted Gross Income
The Working Families Tax Cuts Act broadened the definition of farming income to be more reflective of modern agricultural business practices. As a result, diversified producers will not be penalized under USDA’s requirements for average adjusted gross income (AGI).
Producers are exempt from the $900,000 AGI cap for conservation and disaster programs if at least 75% of their average gross income is from farming, ranching, or silviculture, which now includes agri-tourism, direct-to-consumer sales, and certain equipment sales.
Additionally, qualified pass-through entities are not required to certify compliance with the average AGI limitation at the entity level. However, members individually must meet average AGI requirements, which is the same requirement for joint operations.
Producers should contact their local FSA county office for more information or to update their farm operating plan by the Sept. 15, 2026, deadline for the 2026 program year.
Farmers can use USDA farm ownership microloans to buy and improve property. These microloans are especially helpful to beginning or underserved farmers, U.S. veterans looking for a career in farming, and those who have small and mid-sized farming operations. Microloans have helped farmers and ranchers with operating costs, such as feed, fertilizer, tools, fencing, equipment, and living expenses since 2013.
Microloans can also help with farmland and building purchases and soil and water conservation improvements. FSA designed the program to simplify the application process, expand eligibility requirements and expedite smaller real estate loans to help farmers strengthen their operations. Microloans provide up to $50,000 to qualified producers and can be issued to the applicant directly from the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA).
To learn more about the FSA microloan program, contact your local County USDA Service Center or visit fsa.usda.gov/microloans.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is putting farmers first and reaffirming this commitment by updating its strategic priorities, motto and mission and vision statements for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). These updates complement NRCS’s historic role in providing practical, voluntary, and locally led conservation solutions for producers.
The new NRCS motto and mission and vision statements are:
Motto: Keeping Working Lands in Working Hands
Mission Statement: We deliver practical, voluntary, and locally led conservation solutions that help producers conserve natural resources, strengthen agricultural production, and keep working lands productive for generations to come.
Vision Statement: An America where working lands remain productive, resilient, and in the hands of those who steward them.
NRCS is also updating its strategic priorities to guide agency operations, program delivery, stakeholder engagement and modernization efforts through fiscal year 2026 and beyond.
NRCS’s seven priorities include:
- Preserve and protect agricultural land;
- Shift to outcome-based conservation and farmer empowerment;
- Re-center field engagement and strengthen technical expertise;
- Expand wildlife conservation and outdoor access;
- Strengthen partnerships by streamlining processes and accountability;
- Optimize mission delivery by strengthening workforce culture; and
- Modernize NRCS infrastructure and technology.
Learn more about the priorities at nrcs.usda.gov/about/priorities.
Farm Service Agency (FSA) is committed to providing our farm loan borrowers the tools necessary to be successful. FSA staff will provide guidance and counsel from the loan application process through the borrower’s graduation to commercial credit. While it is FSA’s commitment to advise borrowers as they identify goals and evaluate progress, it is crucial for borrowers to communicate with their farm loan staff when changes occur. It is the borrower’s responsibility to alert FSA to any of the following:
- Any proposed or significant changes in the farming operation
- Any significant changes to family income or expenses
- The development of problem situations
- Any losses or proposed significant changes in security
If a farm loan borrower can’t make payments to suppliers, other creditors, or FSA on time, contact your farm loan staff immediately to discuss loan servicing options.
For more information on FSA farm loan programs, contact your local County USDA Service Center or visit fsa.usda.gov.
August 7th - Assistance for Specialty Crop Farmers Program (ASCF)
August 12th - Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP)
August 31st - Review ARC/PLC Base Allocation Summary
| Farm Operating - Direct |
5.125% |
| Farm Operating - Microloan |
5.125% |
| Farm Ownership - Direct |
6.000% |
| Farm Ownership - Microloan |
6.000% |
| Farm Ownership - Direct, Joint Financing |
4.000% |
| Farm Ownership - Down Payment |
2.000% |
| Emergency Loan - Amount of Actual Loss |
3.750% |
|
