Notice2025-00215
Notice; Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
January 8, 2025
Issuing agencies
Agriculture DepartmentCommodity Credit CorporationFarm Service Agency
Abstract
The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is announcing changes to the available funding, payment limitation, and application deadline for Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops (MASC).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 5 (Wednesday, January 8, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 5 (Wednesday, January 8, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Page 1434]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-00215]
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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 5 / Wednesday, January 8, 2025 /
Notices
[[Page 1434]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Commodity Credit Corporation
Farm Service Agency
[Docket ID FSA-2024-0011]
Notice; Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops
AGENCY: Commodity Credit Corporation and Farm Service Agency, U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA).
ACTION: Notice and application extension.
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SUMMARY: The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is announcing changes to the
available funding, payment limitation, and application deadline for
Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops (MASC).
DATES: FSA county offices will accept applications for MASC until
January 10, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kathy Sayers; telephone: (202) 720-
6870; email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#632802170b1a4d30021a06111023161007024d040c15"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="662d07120e1f4835071f031415261315020748010910">[email protected]</span></a>. Individuals with disabilities who
require alternative means for communication should contact the USDA
Target Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and text telephone (TTY)) or
dial 711 for Telecommunications Relay Service (both voice and text
telephone users can initiate this call from any telephone).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
FSA announced MASC in a Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) in the
Federal Register on December 10, 2024 (89 FR 99212-99220). The NOFA
announced that the MASC application period began on December 10, 2024,
and would end on January 8, 2025. This notice is announcing an
extension of the application period through January 10, 2025; the
extension is intended to provide public notification of the changes
announced in this notice in advance of the application period closing.
The NOFA provided that MASC would use up to $2 billion in Commodity
Credit Corporation (CCC) funding to provide eligible specialty crop
producers with marketing assistance payments that will help them engage
in activities that aid in expanding domestic specialty crop markets or
in developing new markets for their specialty crops. FSA has determined
that an additional $650 million in CCC funding is available for this
purpose, so up to $2.65 billion may be used to provide assistance
through MASC.
The NOFA also provided that a person or legal entity, other than a
joint venture or general partnership, cannot receive, directly or
indirectly, more than $125,000 in MASC payments. In this notice, FSA is
announcing that the payment limitation will be increased from $125,000
to $900,000. FSA is making this change in response to stakeholder
engagement and feedback received after publication of the MASC NOFA.
During this time, stakeholders have emphasized the higher marketing
costs related to specialty crops due to perishability, transporting,
and packaging, which present greater financial challenges maintaining
and expanding markets. Stakeholders have also raised concerns that the
MASC payment limitation was different than the payment limitation for
specialty crops in some previous programs.\1\ USDA acknowledges the
concerns expressed by stakeholders regarding the inconsistent manner in
which program requirements are applied and the impact that this may
have on producer expectations regarding eligibility and potential
program benefits to support producers in marketing their commodities.
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\1\ FSA has applied a payment limitation of $900,000 for
payments to specialty crop producers under previous programs. For
both the Emergency Relief Program (ERP) and ERP 2022, producers were
subject to a $900,000 payment limitation for specialty crops if at
least 75 percent of the person or legal entity's average adjusted
gross income was income derived from farming, ranching, and forestry
related activities. For ERP Phase 1, see the NOFA published May 18,
2022 (87 FR 30164-30172); for ERP Phase 2, see 7 CFR 760.1906(b)(1);
for ERP 2022, see the NOFA published October 31, 2023 (88 FR 74404-
74419).
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The increases in the amount of available funding and the payment
limitation do not change how FSA will determine the percent payment
factors used in the MASC payment calculation. As provided in the NOFA,
if demand for MASC payments exceeds available funding, either MASC
payments may be prorated, the payment limitation may be lowered, or
both. The increase to the payment limitation does not change how a
payment to a legal entity will be attributed to members who have a
direct or indirect ownership interest in the legal entity; the
provisions regarding attribution will be applied as provided in the
NOFA.
Zach Ducheneaux,
Administrator, Farm Service Agency, and Executive Vice President,
Commodity Credit Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2025-00215 Filed 1-6-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3411-E2-P
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