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Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins today announced payment rates and the enrollment period for the Assistance for Specialty Crops Farmers (ASCF) program.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture 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 from fsa.usda.gov/ascf starting June 1, 2026. 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.
Producers who do not have a Login.gov account or prefer to enroll in person at their local Farm Service Agency office can request their prefilled application beginning June 8, 2026. The ASCF enrollment period closes on Aug. 7, 2026.
Payments will be issued as applications are submitted and approved, beginning as early as the first week of signup.
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.
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. For more information, producers can contact their local FSA county office.
Source: USDA
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