U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced her department’s plan to distribute economic and disaster aid passed by Congress through last year’s continuing resolution in remarks Sunday night at the Commodity Classic in Denver, Colorado.
Rollins said that USDA will beat the 90-day deadline for the distribution of the first $10 billion in economic assistance, with producer payments to start flowing within the next few weeks.
Rollins said the aid program will be called the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program, or E-CAP. Rollins said that USDA is on track to begin applications on or before March 20.
“I have asked my team to think creatively about how to develop a streamlined application process. We don’t want to be your bottleneck. In cases where we have information already on file, a pre-filled application will be sent to you,” Rollins said. “Farm Service Agency (FSA) will use the 2024 acreage reporting data you previously filed to initiate the application process. There will also be an opportunity for you to provide this information if you missed the window. You will be asked to review the information, sign, and return the completed application back to your local FSA service center. We are developing tools to provide fair and transparent standards for calculating payments.”
USDA will also distribute $20 billion in disaster relief to farmers, which was also allocated by Congress last year through the continuing resolution.
“We are simultaneously working on rapid implementation of the $20 billion in disaster assistance due to weather conditions outside your control,” Rollins said. “Unlike the previous administration, we are not going to delay for an entire year – and gone are the days of progressive factoring. No longer will you be required to hand in your tax returns.”
Rollins acknowledged rising input costs for farmers, stating that farm inputs are up almost 30 percent in the last five years, while prices for corn, soybeans, sorghum and wheat have dropped by more than 30 percent since 2022. USDA’s latest trade estimate shows the agriculture trade deficit is set to hit $49 billion in 2025 – a record high.
The USDA Secretary also noted that additional USDA program reforms will be announced soon, which includes producers no longer being required to provide tax returns for farm program benefits.
In addition, on Feb. 26, Rollins announced that the Trump Administration will implement a $1 billion “comprehensive strategy to curb highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), protect the U.S. poultry industry, and lower egg prices,” in addition to funding already being provided to indemnify growers for depopulated flocks. The five-pronged strategy includes an additional $500 million for biosecurity measures, $400 million in financial relief for affected farmers, and $100 million for vaccine research, action to reduce regulatory burdens, and exploring temporary import options.
Prior to her remarks, Secretary Rollins participated in a roundtable discussion with industry leaders representing corn, soybean, wheat, and sorghum production. She also engaged with farmers and agriculture stakeholders on the trade show floor after speaking with media about economic relief, trade policy, and USDA’s recently released response plan to address avian flu and ultimately lower egg prices.