Market Facilitation Program Sign-up Now Open

The USDA announced this week the details of its $16 billion aid package that aims to soften the blow dealt to farmers by a prolonged trade war with China. Farmers can apply until December 6 for direct payments to be made in up to three waves. The first payment will be comprised of the higher of either 50 percent of a producer's calculated payment or $15 per acre. MFP payments will be made in up to three portions, with the second and third payments evaluated as market conditions and trade opportunities dictate. If conditions warrant, the second payment will be made in November, and the third in early January.

MFP provides payments to eligible producers of 

• Non-specialty crops, including alfalfa hay, barley, canola, corn, crambe, dried beans, dry peas, extra-long staple cotton, flaxseed, lentils, long grain and medium grain rice, millet, mustard seed, oats, peanuts, rapeseed, rye, safflower, sesame seed, small and large chickpeas, sorghum, soybeans, sunflower seed, temperate japonica rice, triticale, upland cotton, and wheat. 
• Specialty crops, including almonds, cranberries, cultivated ginseng, fresh grapes, fresh sweet cherries, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pistachios, and walnuts. 
• Dairy and hogs. 

To be eligible for payments, applicants also must either 

• Have an average adjusted gross income for tax years 2014, 2015, and 2016 of less than $900,000; or 
• Derive at least 75 percent of their adjusted gross income from farming or ranching. 

Producers also must 

• Comply with the provisions of the "Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation" regulations, often called the conservation compliance provisions. 
• Have a farm number with USDA's Farm Service Agency. 
• Payments are calculated differently by the type of commodity.  

Non-specialty Crops 

• For non-specialty crops, assistance is based on a single-county payment rate multiplied by a farm's total plantings of MFP-eligible crops in aggregate in 2019. Those per-acre payments are not dependent on which of those crops are planted in 2019. A producer's total payment-eligible plantings cannot exceed total 2018 plantings. In Pennsylvania, county payment rates range from $15 per acre in Susquehanna County to $71 per acre in Pike County, with a statewide median of $36 per acre, depending on the impact of unjustified trade retaliation in that county. Acreage of non-specialty crops must be planted by August 1, 2019 to be considered eligible for MFP payments.
• You can find payment rates for your county at the USDA Market Facilitation Program webpage or download a list of all county rates. 

Dairy, Hogs, and Specialty Crops 

Dairy producers who were in business as of June 1, 2019, will receive a per hundred weight payment on production history, and hog producers will receive a payment based on the number of live hogs owned on a day selected by the producer between April 1 and May 15, 2019.  

For specialty crops, producers will receive a payment based on 2019 acres of fruit or nut bearing plants. 

Rates include 

• Dairy (milk): $0.20 per hundredweight 
• Hogs: $11 per head 
• Nuts: $146 per acre 
• Cranberries: $.03 per pound at 21,371 pounds per acre  
• Ginseng: $2.85 per pound at 2,000 pounds per acre 
• Sweet cherries (fresh): $0.17 per pound at 9,148 pounds per acre 
• Table grapes: $0.03 per pound at 20,820 pounds per acre 

Cover Crops 

Producers affected by natural disasters who filed prevented planting claims then planted an MFP-eligible cover crop, with the potential to be harvested or for subsequent use as forage, qualify for a $15 per acre payment. Acreage of cover crops must be planted by August 1, 2019 to be considered eligible for MFP payments.

To learn more about the aid package, go to the USDA Market Facilitation Program webpage.