Oct 21, 2025, 11:01 by Robert Herrington, INFB Marketing
With the federal government shutdown in early October, Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP) payments for the 2024 crop year were halted along with program-related work at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency.
For Indiana farmers, this means that any final ECAP payments that were scheduled for distribution were delayed.
The FSA is issuing up to $10 billion in direct payments to eligible agricultural producers of eligible commodities. These one-time economic assistance payments help commodity producers mitigate the impacts of increased input costs and falling commodity prices.
The program was included in the American Relief Act of 2025, which was passed by Congress and signed by then-President Biden in December 2024. The Trump administration met the 90-day legislative deadline to initiate the program earlier this year.
“Initial ECAP payments were factored by 85% to ensure that total program payments did not exceed $10 billion in available funding. Since additional funds remain, FSA is issuing a second payment,” said Brooke Appleton, deputy under secretary for farm production and conservation, speaking five days prior to the government shutdown. “As producers continue to face market volatility, these payments, along with the entire suite of supplemental disaster assistance programs, will help producers navigate market uncertainty, pay down debt for the 2024 crop year, and secure financing for the next crop year.”
Eligible commodities include barley, chickpeas, corn, cotton, lentils, oats, peanuts, peas, rice, sorghum, soybeans, wheat and oil seeds such as canola, crambe, flax, mustard, rapeseed, safflower, sesame and sunflower.
According to FSA, the federal government has disbursed $9.15 billion to 563,631 applicants. Indiana had the ninth highest amount received by a state with a total of $392.2 million from 29,640 approved applications.(317) 692-7871
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