This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that it will issue up to $10 billion in assistance to farmers for the 2024 crop year. Applications for the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP) are due by Aug. 15, the USDA said.

In a Tueday news release, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said ECAP will help farmers mitigate the impact of increased input costs and falling commodity prices.

“Producers are facing higher costs and market uncertainty, and the Trump Administration is ensuring they get the support they need without delay,” Rollins said. “With clear direction from Congress, USDA has prioritized streamlining the process and accelerating these payments ahead of schedule, ensuring farmers have the resources necessary to manage rising expenses and secure financing for next season.”

ECAP is administered by the USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). The economic relief payments were authorized as part of the American Relief Act of 2025, and are based on planted and prevented planted crop acres for eligible commodities for the 2024 crop year.

Commodities eligible for ECAP payments included crops like wheat, oats, corn and soybeans, as well as some oilseed crops.

To help streamline the delivery of ECAP, the FSA will start sending pre-filled applications to farmers who submitted acreage reports for 2024 eligible ECAP commodities, the USDA said. The pre-filled applications would go out after the signup period opened Wednesday, the release said.

Farmers don’t have to wait for the pre-filled ECAP application, however. Producers can visit fsa.usda.gov/ecap, or contact their local FSA office to request an application, the USDA said. The USDA’s ECAP web page also includes resources for farmers like a payment estimate calculator.

The USDA said ECAP assistance will be calculated using a flat payment rate for the eligible commodity, multiplied by the eligible reported acres. In Tuesday’s news release, the USDA listed a payment rates for eligible commodities. For corn, the rate was $42.91 per acre. Soybeans had a payment rate of $29.76 per acre.

The USDA said the application deadline for ECAP was Aug. 15. Farmers who have not already reported 2024 crop year acreage, or filed a notice of loss for prevented planted crops, also need to do so before Aug. 15.