The USDA has opened the application period for up to $10 billion in direct economic assistance to farmers through the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP) for the 2024 crop year. Administered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), ECAP will help farmers mitigate the impacts of increased input costs and falling commodity prices.
Authorized by the American Relief Act, 2025, these economic relief payments are based on planted and prevented planted crop acres for eligible commodities for the 2024 crop year, and many commodities widely planted in Virginia are eligible. The program also includes payments for eligible double-crop rotations, which will benefit Virginia farmers.
To streamline and simplify the delivery of ECAP, FSA will begin sending pre-filled applications to producers who submitted acreage reports to FSA for 2024 eligible ECAP commodities. Producers do not have to wait for their pre-filled ECAP application to apply. They can visit fsa.usda.gov/ecap to apply using a login.gov account or contact their local FSA office to request an application once the signup period opens.
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