Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP): What you Need to Know

The $10 billion in economic aid passed as part of the American Relief Act of 2025 in December is headed to farmers as the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP). The aid comes at a time of acute need in farm country, when a combination of low commodity prices, high input prices and an outdated and ineffective safety net left farmers deep in the red in 2024.

ECAP: What is it?

The Emergency Commodity Assistance Program is a one-time payment to farmers administered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). Congress laid out the formula for ECAP in the American Relief Act of 2025, as explained in a previous Market Intel from January with estimates in striking distance of the final USDA payment rates. Essentially, the per-acre payments were set as either a percentage of estimated losses per-acre for each commodity or as a percentage of the commodity’s reference price. Eligible commodities will receive a prescribed per-acre payment on all planted acres and on 50% of acres prevented from being planted. Acres planted for harvest, grazing, haying, silage or other similar purposes in the 2024 crop year qualify. The per-acre payments as set by the USDA are found in the table below.

Notably, the initial round of payments will only pay 85% of the per-acre payment to ensure that enough funding is available for all farmers who sign up. After the ECAP application period closes on August 15, a second payment may be issued with the remaining funds up to the additional 15% of the per-acre payments. Farmers can estimate their total expected payments using a USDA-provided ECAP calculator.

ECAP: How do I Apply?

Applications opened on March 19 and will close on August 15. Farmers who reported eligible commodities as planted acres or prevent plant acres to FSA as of March 10 will be mailed a pre-filled ECAP application. After verifying and completing the ECAP application, farmers should submit it to their local FSA county office in person, electronically via Box or One-span, fax, or online with a login.gov account. Each farmer will submit one single application, even if they have acres in multiple counties or states.

In addition to the application, there are four forms farmers must have on file with FSA for payment, including: AD-2047
(Customer Data Worksheet), CCC-902 (Farm Operating Plan for an individual or legal entity), AD-1026 (Highly Erodible Land Conservation (HELC) and Wetland Conservation (WC) Certification), and Form SF-3881
(Direct Deposit). Forms CCC-901
(Member Information for Legal Entities) and CCC-943
(75 percent of Average Gross Income from Farming, Ranching, or Forestry)
will be required where applicable. According to USDA, if farmers have participated in past FSA programs all but form CCC-943, which is new, will likely already be on file.

ECAP: Am I eligible?

For eligibility, farmers must be actively engaged in farming, have an interest in input expenses for a covered commodity, reported eligible planted and prevent plant acres to FSA via FSA-578 (Report of Acreage) form and, if applicable, submitted a CCC-576 (Notice of Loss) form. If eligible acreage has not previously been reported to FSA, it must be reported by the August 15 deadline.

ECAP payments are capped at $125,000 for farmers and ranchers with less than 75% of their average gross income across tax years 2021, 2022 and 2023 derived from farming, ranching or forestry. The cap is increased to $250,000 for farmers with 75% or more of their average gross income derived from farming, ranching or forestry. There is no traditional adjusted gross income maximum to receive aid, and economic aid payment limitations are unrelated to any other program’s payment limits.

ECAP Recap

The Emergency Commodity Assistance Program is a one-time payment to farmers included in the American Relief Act of 2025, which was passed by Congress and signed by President Biden in December 2024. The Trump administration met the 90-day legislative deadline to initiate the program, with applications open March 19 through August 15. Payments will be made on a flat per-acre rate on acres planted, or prevented from planting, to eligible commodities for the 2024 crop year.

ECAP will bring much-needed relief to farmers across the country, who are staring down their third year of negative returns on every acre they plant in a time of intense trade-related uncertainty. Farmers, ranchers and rural communities impacted by natural disasters will now wait for word on the additional $21 billion in disaster aid also passed as part of the American Relief Act of 2025.