The Shadow
WASHINGTON, DC (VR) —Specialty crop farmers experiencing financial stress may be eligible for one-time bridge payments through the Assistance for Specialty Crop Farmers Program.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced that it will provide $1 billion in ASCF program assistance for specialty crops and sugar—commodities not covered through the previously announced Farmer Bridge Assistance Program.
The ASCF program is authorized under the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act and will be administered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency. Specialty crop producers have until March 13 to report 2025 acres to FSA.
“The ASCF program payments are designed to address financial stress that specialty crop farmers encountered due to high input costs, such as fuel and fertilizer inputs; persistent inflation; market disruptions; and foreign competition that often benefits from lower labor costs,” explained Tony Banks, senior assistant director of agriculture, development and innovation at Virginia Farm Bureau Federation.
He added that farmers who raise specialty crops like fruits, vegetables and tree nuts lack access to as many financial and risk management tools as commodity crop producers. This hinders their ability to manage prices and expense risks.
“Specialty crops tend to be highly perishable and can’t be stored from one year to the next to wait for better prices,” Banks noted. “These ASCF payments will help specialty crop producers offset incurred losses.”
ASCF payments are based on reported 2025 planted acres. Eligible farmers should ensure their 2025 acreage reporting is factual and accurate by 5 p.m. on March 13. Commodity-specific payment rates will be released by the end of March.
ASCF-eligible specialty crops include:
(A) Almond, apple, apricot, aronia berry, artichoke, asparagus, avocado; (B) banana, bean (snap or green; lima; dry edible), beet (table), blackberry, blueberry, breadfruit, broccoli (including broccoli raab), Brussels sprouts; (C) cabbage (including Chinese), cacao, carrot, cashew, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, cherimoya, cherry, chestnut (for nuts), chive, citrus, coconut, coffee, collards (including kale), cranberry, cucumber, currant; (D) date, dry edible beans and peas; (E) edamame, eggplant, endive; (F) feijou, fig, filbert (hazelnut); (G) garlic, gooseberry, grape (including raisin), guava; (H) horseradish; (K) kiwi, kohlrabi; (L) leek, lettuce, litchi; (M) macadamia, mango, melon (all types), mushroom (cultivated), mustard and other greens; (N) nectarine; (O) okra, olive, onion, Opuntia; (P) papaya, parsley, parsnip, passion fruit, pea (garden; English or edible pod; dry edible), peach, pear, pecan, pepper, persimmon, pineapple, pistachio, plum (including prune), pomegranate, potato, pumpkin; (Q) quince; (R) radish (all types), raspberry, rhubarb, rutabaga; (S) salsify, spinach, squash (summer and winter), strawberry, Suriname cherry, sweet corn, sweet potato, Swiss chard; (T) taro, tomato (including tomatillo), turnip; (W) walnut, watermelon.
Dry edible beans and peas covered by the Farmer Bridge Assistance Program will not be eligible for ASCF payments.
For more information on ASCF, visit fsa.usda.gov/fba, or contact your local FSA county office.
