News

ECAP applications are coming in

A Farm Service Agency official says producers are signing up for the recently-released Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP) for the 2024 crop year.

Greg Biba with Wisconsin’s Farm Service Agency tells Brownfield there are three ways to sign up. “USDA has mailed applications, and they’ll be receiving those applications in the mail. They can wait for them and complete it that way. There’s an option to go and do it online, and again they can come into our office.”

Biba says many FSA offices are setting appointments so producers can take care of several things including their ECAP application in the same trip. “The DMC (Dairy Margin Coverage) program coming up here, the deadline here on March 31st and ARC-PLC on the 15th of April and so I’ve already heard reports back from our offices that we’ve got producers doing that so that’s good. That’s really good to do that all in one shot.”

Biba says signup for ECAP runs through August 15^th.  He says FSA offices are ready since they’ve had around 90 days to prepare while the rulemaking process was underway. 

Biba says eligible commodities can receive 100% of the per-acre payments, and farmers with prevented plant acres last year are also eligible for half of the rate.  The expedited farmer assistance payments were authorized by the American Relief Act, 2025 just before Christmas.

The ECAP program pays a fixed rate per acre based on the commodity grown.  The rates can be found online at Brownfield Ag News.

Web:

The commodities below are eligible for these per-acre payment rates:

Wheat – $30.69	Eligible oilseeds:
Corn – $42.91	Canola – $31.83
Sorghum – $42.52	Crambe – $19.08
Barley – $21.67	Flax – $20.97
Oats – $77.66	Mustard – $11.36
Upland cotton & Extra-long staple cotton – $84.74	Rapeseed – $23.63
Long & medium grain rice – $76.94	Safflower – $26.32
Peanuts – $75.51	Sesame – $16.83
Soybeans – $29.76	Sunflower – $27.23
Dry peas – $16.02
Lentils – $19.30
Small Chickpeas – $31.45
Large Chickpeas – $24.02