Ecap Nofa

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Notices

Federal Register
Vol. 90, No. 52
Wednesday, March 19, 2025

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER
contains documents other than rules or
proposed rules that are applicable to the
public. Notices of hearings and investigations,
committee meetings, agency decisions and
rulings, delegations of authority, filing of
petitions and applications and agency
statements of organization and functions are
examples of documents appearing in this
section.

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

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Submission for OMB Review;
Comment Request
The Department of Agriculture will
submit the following information
collection requirement(s) to OMB for
review and clearance under the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995,
Public Law 104–13 on or after the date
of publication of this notice. Comments
are requested regarding: (1) whether the
collection of information is necessary
for the proper performance of the
functions of the agency, including
whether the information will have
practical utility; (2) the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of burden including
the validity of the methodology and
assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance
the quality, utility and clarity of the
information to be collected; and (4)
ways to minimize the burden of the
collection of information on those who
are to respond, including through the
use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other
technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology.
Comments regarding these
information collections are best assured
of having their full effect if received by
April 18, 2025. Written comments and
recommendations for the proposed
information collection should be
submitted within 30 days of the
publication of this notice on the
following website www.reginfo.gov/
public/do/PRAMain. Find this
particular information collection by
selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day
Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or
by using the search function.
An agency may not conduct or
sponsor a collection of information
unless the collection of information
displays a currently valid OMB control
number and the agency informs
potential persons who are to respond to
the collection of information that such
persons are not required to respond to

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the collection of information unless it
displays a currently valid OMB control
number.
National Agricultural Statistics Service
(NASS)
Title: Fruit, Nuts, and Specialty
Crops—Substantive Change.
OMB Control Number: 0535–0039.
Summary of Collection: The primary
function of the National Agricultural
Statistics Service (NASS) is to prepare
and issue current official state and
national estimates of crop and livestock
production. Estimates of fruit, tree nuts,
and specialty crops are an integral part
of this program. These estimates support
the NASS strategic plan to cover all
agricultural cash receipts. The authority
to collect these data activities is granted
under U.S. Code title 7, Section 2204(a).
Information is collected on a voluntary
basis from growers, processors, and
handlers through surveys. Individually
identifiable data collected under this
authority are governed by Section 1770
of the Food Security Act of 1985, as
amended, 7 U.S.C, 2276, and Title III of
Public Law 115–435 (CIPSEA) which
requires USDA to afford strict
confidentially to non-aggregated data
provided by respondents.
The National Agricultural Statistics
Service (NASS) is requesting a
substantive change to the Maple Syrup
Inquiry. The change is to add a yes/no
screening question to the May Maple
Inquiry about the intention to have taps
in the future. No change in burden
results from this change. The revised
Maple Syrup Inquiry questionnaire
containing has been loaded.
Need and Use of the Information:
Data reported on fruit, nut, and
specialty crops are used by NASS to
estimate crop acreage, yield, production,
utilization, price, and value in States
with significant commercial production.
These estimates are essential to farmers,
processors, importers and exporters,
shipping companies, cold storage
facilities and handlers in making
production and marketing decisions.
Estimates from these inquiries are used
by market order administrators in their
determination of expected crop supplies
under federal and State market orders.
Description of Respondents: Farms;
Business or other for-profit.
Number of Respondents: 55,435.
Frequency of Responses: On occasion;
Annually; Semi-annually; Quarterly;
Monthly; Weekly.

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Total Burden Hours: 28,114.
Levi S. Harrell,
Departmental Information Collection
Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2025–04451 Filed 3–18–25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–20–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Farm Service Agency
[Docket ID FSA–2025–0002]

Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA);
Emergency Commodity Assistance
Program (ECAP)
Farm Service Agency, U.S.
Department of Agriculture (USDA).
ACTION: Notification of funds
availability.
AGENCY:

The Farm Service Agency
(FSA) is issuing this notice announcing
the funding for ECAP, which will
provide economic assistance payments
to eligible producers of eligible
commodities for the 2024 crop year.
ECAP is a new FSA program authorized
by the American Relief Act, 2025. This
notice also announces the eligibility
(commodities, acres, producers, and
losses), payment calculations, payment
limitations, and how to apply (pre-filled
application and any required
adjustments) for ECAP.
DATES: Applications Due Date: We will
accept applications from March 19,
2025, through August 15, 2025.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Kathy Sayers; telephone: (202) 720–
6870; email: [email protected].
Individuals with disabilities who
require alternative means for
communication should contact the
USDA Target Center at (202) 720–2600
(voice and text telephone (TTY mode))
or dial 711 for Telecommunications
Relay Service (both voice and text
telephone users can initiate this call
from any telephone).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
SUMMARY:

Background
This document announces the
funding for ECAP, which is a new
program authorized by section 2102 of
Title I of Division B of the American
Relief Act, 2025 (Pub. L. 118–158) and
administered by FSA. ECAP will use up
to $10 billion to issue 1-time economic
assistance payments to eligible

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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 52 / Wednesday, March 19, 2025 / Notices
producers of eligible commodities for
the 2024 crop year. These payments are
intended to help farmers cope with
losses from natural disasters and a
difficult farm economy, and will help
preserve family farms and ranches
across the country while also continuing
to ensure food and agricultural security
for our nation.1

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Definitions
The following definitions apply to
this notice:
Application means the ECAP
application form.
ARC means Agriculture Risk Coverage
codified at 7 U.S.C. 9017.
Average gross farm income means the
average of the person or legal entity’s
gross income derived from farming,
ranching, and silviculture 2 operations,
for the base period consisting of the
2020, 2021, and 2022 tax years.
If the resulting average gross farm
income derived from items 1 through 13
of the definition of income derived from
farming, ranching, and silviculture
operations is at least 66.66 percent of
the average gross income of the person
or legal entity, then the average gross
farm income may also take into
consideration income or benefits
derived from the following:
(1) The sale, trade, or other
disposition of equipment to conduct
farm, ranch, or forestry operations; and
(2) The provision of production
inputs and production services to
farmers, ranchers, foresters, and farm
operations.
For legal entities not required to file
a Federal income tax return, or a person
or legal entity that did not have taxable
income in 1 or more of the tax years
during the base period (2020, 2021, or
2022), the average gross farm income
will be the gross farm income, averaged
for the 2020, 2021, and 2022 tax years,
as determined by FSA. For a legal entity
created during the base period, the gross
farm income average will include only
those years of the base period for which
it was in business; however, a new legal
entity will not be considered ‘‘new’’ to
the extent it takes over an existing
operation and has any elements of
common ownership interest and land
with the preceding person or legal entity
from which it took over. When there is
such commonality, income of the
1 Tom Cole Floor Remarks on H.R. 10545, the
American Relief Act, 2025; available at https://
appropriations.house.gov/news/remarks/cole-floorremarks-hr-10545-american-relief-act-2025.
2 Both ‘‘silviculture’’ and ‘‘forestry’’ have been
used in statutes, regulations, and NOFAs related to
payment limitation for FSA and Commodity Credit
Corporation (CCC) programs. FSA considers the
terms to have the same meaning for the purpose of
administering payment limitations.

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previous person or legal entity will be
averaged with that of the new legal
entity for the base period. For a person
filing a joint tax return, the certification
of average gross farm income may be
reported as if the person had filed a
separate Federal tax return, and the
calculation is consistent with the
information supporting the filed joint
return.
Average gross income means the
average of the gross income as defined
under 26 U.S.C. 61 of the person or legal
entity, for the 2020, 2021 and 2022 tax
years.
Base period means the 2020, 2021,
and 2022 tax years.
Cotton means extra-long staple cotton
and upland cotton.
Corn means only white, yellow,
amylose, popcorn (excluding strawberry
popcorn), waxy, and high amylase corn.
Crop year means the calendar year in
which a commodity was intended for
harvest.
CCC means the Commodity Credit
Corporation.
Deputy Administrator means the FSA
Deputy Administrator for Farm
Programs.
Determined acreage means that
acreage established by an FSA
representative by use of official acreage,
digitizing areas on a photograph or other
imagery, or computations from scaled
dimensions or ground measurements.
Double cropping means, as
determined by the Deputy
Administrator on a regional basis,
consecutive planting of two specific
crops that have the capability to be
planted and carried to maturity for the
intended uses, as reported by the
producer, on the same acreage within a
12-month period. To be considered
double cropping, the planting of two
specific crops must be in an area where
the FSA State Committee has
determined that producers are typically
able to repeat the same cycle
successfully in a subsequent 12-month
period under normal growing
conditions.
Dry peas means Austrian, green,
wrinkled seed, and yellow peas,
excluding peas grown for the fresh,
canning, or frozen market.
Economic loss means, as specified in
section 2102(a)(4)(B) of the American
Relief Act, 2025, the difference between
the expected cost of production per acre
for an eligible commodity and the
expected gross return per acre for that
eligible commodity.
Eligible commodities means barley,
canola, crambe, corn, dry peas, extralong staple cotton, flax, large chickpeas,
mustard, lentils, oats, peanuts, rapeseed,
rice, safflower, sesame, small chickpeas,

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sorghum, soybeans, sunflower, upland
cotton, and wheat.
Expected cost of production per acre
means, as specified in section 2102(a)(3)
of the American Relief Act, 2025:
(1) For wheat, corn, grain sorghum,
barley, oats, cotton, rice, and soybeans,
the total costs listed for the 2024 crop
year with respect to the applicable
eligible commodity contained in the
most recent data product titled
‘‘national average cost-of-production
forecasts for major U.S. field crops’’
published by the Economic Research
Service; and
(2) For an eligible commodity not
specified in paragraph (1) of this
definition, a comparable total estimated
cost-of-production, as determined by the
Secretary.
Expected gross return per acre means,
as specified in section 2102(a)(2) of the
American Relief Act, 2025:
(1) For wheat, corn, grain sorghum,
barley, oats, cotton, rice, and soybeans,
the product obtained by multiplying:
(i) The projected average farm price
for the applicable eligible commodity
for the 2024–2025 marketing year
contained in the most recent World
Agricultural Supply and Demand
Estimates published before December
21, 2024, by the World Agricultural
Outlook Board; and
(ii) The national average harvested
yield per acre for the applicable eligible
commodity for the most recent crop
years, as determined by the Secretary;
and
(2) For an eligible commodity not
specified in paragraph (1) of this
definition, a comparable estimate of
gross returns, as determined by the
Secretary.
Extra-long staple cotton means cotton
that follows the standard planting and
harvesting practices of the area in which
the cotton is grown, and meets all of the
following conditions:
(1) American-Pima, Sea Island,
Sealand, all other varieties of the
Barbandense species of cotton and any
hybrid thereof, and any other variety of
cotton in which 1 or more of these
varieties is predominant;
(2) The acreage is grown in a county
designated as an extra-long staple cotton
county by the Secretary; and
(3) The production from the acreage is
ginned on a roller-type gin.
Farming operation means a business
enterprise engaged in the production of
agricultural products, commodities, or
livestock, operated by a person, legal
entity, or joint operation. A person or
legal entity may have more than one
farming operation if the person or legal
entity is a member of one or more legal
entity or joint operation.

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Grain sorghum means grain sorghum
of a feed grain or dual-purpose variety
(including any cross that, at all stages of
growth, having characteristics of a feed
grain or dual-purpose variety) that
follows the standard planting and
harvesting practice for grain sorghum
for the area in which the grain sorghum
was planted. Sweet sorghum is not
considered a grain sorghum.
Income derived from farming,
ranching, and silviculture operations
means income of a person or legal entity
derived from:
(1) Production of crops and
unfinished raw forestry products;
(2) Production of livestock,
aquaculture products used for food,
honeybees, and products derived from
livestock;
(3) Production of farm-based
renewable energy;
(4) Selling (including the sale of
easements and development rights) of
farm, ranch, and forestry land, water or
hunting rights, or environmental
benefits;
(5) Rental or lease of land or
equipment used for farming, ranching,
or forestry operations, including water
or hunting rights;
(6) Processing, packing, storing, and
transportation of farm, ranch, or forestry
commodities including for renewable
energy;
(7) Feeding, rearing, or finishing of
livestock;
(8) Payments of benefits, including
benefits from risk management
practices, Federal crop insurance
indemnities, and catastrophic risk
protection plans;
(9) Sale of land that has been used for
agricultural purposes;
(10) Benefits (including, but not
limited to, cost-share assistance and
other payments) from any Federal
program made available and applicable
to payment eligibility and payment
limitation rules, as provided in 7 CFR
part 1400;
(11) Income reported on IRS Schedule
F or other schedule, approved by the
Deputy Administrator for Farm
Programs, used by the person or legal
entity to report income from such
operations to the IRS;
(12) Wages or dividends received
from a closely held corporation, an
Interest Charge Domestic International
Sales Corporation (also known as IC–
DISC), or legal entity comprised entirely
of family members when more than 50
percent of the legal entity’s gross
receipts for each tax year are derived
from farming, ranching, and forestry
activities as defined in this document;
and

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(13) Any other activity related to
farming, ranching, or forestry, as
determined by the Deputy
Administrator.
IRS means the Department of the
Treasury, Internal Revenue Service.
Legal entity means an entity that is
created under Federal or State law and
that:
(1) Owns land or an agricultural
commodity; or
(2) Produces an agricultural
commodity.
Legal entities include corporations,
joint stock companies, associations,
limited partnerships, limited liability
companies, irrevocable trusts, estates,
charitable organizations, general
partnerships, joint ventures, and other
similar organizations created under
Federal or State law including any such
organization participating in a business
structure as a partner in a general
partnership, a participant in a joint
venture, a grantor of a revocable trust,
or as a participant in a similar
organization. A business operating as a
sole proprietorship is considered a legal
entity.
Minor child means a person who is
under 18 years of age as of June 1, 2024.
Ownership interest means to have
either a legal ownership interest or a
beneficial ownership interest in a legal
entity. For the purposes of
administering ECAP, a person or legal
entity that owns a share or stock in a
legal entity that is a corporation, limited
liability company, limited partnership,
or similar type entity where members
hold a legal ownership interest and
shares in the profits or losses of such
entity is considered to have an
ownership interest in such legal entity.
A person or legal entity that is a
beneficiary of a trust or heir of an estate
who benefits from the profits or losses
of such entity is also considered to have
a beneficial ownership interest in such
legal entity.
Person means an individual who is a
natural person and does not include a
legal entity.
Peanuts means all peanuts excluding
perennial peanuts.
PLC means Price Loss Coverage
codified at 7 U.S.C. 9016.
Producer means an owner, operator,
landlord, tenant, or sharecropper that
shares in the risk of producing a crop
and is entitled to share in the crop
available for marketing from the farm, or
would have shared had the crop been
produced.
Production inputs mean material to
conduct farming operations, such as
seeds, chemicals, and fencing supplies.
Production services mean services
provided to support a farming

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operation, such as custom farming,
custom feeding, and custom fencing.
Rice means long grain rice and
medium grain rice, including temperate
japonica rice, short grain, and sweet
rice.
Secretary means the Secretary of
Agriculture.
Skip-row means a cultural practice in
which rows of a crop are alternated with
strips of idle land or another crop, as
determined by the Secretary.
United States means all 50 States of
the United States, the District of
Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto
Rico, and any other territory or
possession of the United States.
Upland cotton means cotton that is
produced in the United States from
other than pure strain varieties of the
Barbadense species, any hybrid thereof,
or any other variety of cotton in which
one or more of these varieties
predominate. In other words, it means
any cotton that is not extra-long staple
cotton.
USDA means the U.S. Department of
Agriculture.
Eligible Commodities
As provided in the American Relief
Act, 2025, eligible commodities for
ECAP include loan commodities as
defined in section 1201(a) of the
Agricultural Act of 2014 (7 U.S.C.
9031(a)), excluding graded wool,
nongraded wool, mohair, or honey.
Therefore, eligible commodities include
wheat, corn, sorghum, barley, oats,
upland cotton, extra-long staple cotton,
long grain rice, medium grain rice,
peanuts, soybeans, other oilseeds, dry
peas, lentils, small chickpeas, and large
chickpeas. Eligible ‘‘other oilseeds’’ are
canola, crambe, flax, mustard, rapeseed,
safflower, sesame, and sunflower.
Eligible Acres
As provided in the American Relief
Act, 2025, the eligible acres of an
eligible commodity on a farm are equal
to the sum of:
• the acreage planted on the farm to
that eligible commodity for harvest,
grazing, haying, silage, or other similar
purposes for the 2024 crop year; and
• 50 percent of the acreage on the
farm that was prevented from being
planted during the 2024 crop year to
that eligible commodity because of
drought, flood, or other natural disaster,
or other condition beyond the control of
the producers on the farm, as
determined by the Secretary.
Acreage must be located in the United
States to be eligible. FSA will calculate
payments based on determined acreage,
or on reported acres if determined acres
are not present. Planted acreage

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includes any land devoted to planted
acres for accepted skip-row planting
patterns, as determined by the
Secretary.3
In situations where a producer
planted, or was prevented from
planting, both an initial crop and a
subsequent crop on the same acreage for
the 2024 crop year, the initial crop will
be eligible for ECAP if it was an eligible
commodity. If the subsequent crop that
was planted or prevented from being
planted was also an eligible commodity,
it will also be eligible for ECAP if it was
in an approved double cropping
combination.
A subsequent eligible commodity will
also be eligible for ECAP when it is
planted or prevented from being planted
after an initial crop that is not an
eligible commodity or a fruit, vegetable,
or wild rice, and the combination does
not meet the existing definition of an
approved double cropping situation (for
example, an initial crop of mixed forage
followed by a subsequent crop of corn).
The acreage of the subsequent eligible
commodity is eligible in these situations
because the initial crop may be a
reflection of early acreage reporting
deadlines and reporting requirements of
other FSA programs rather than the
producer’s planting intention for the
2024 crop year. FSA acreage reporting
provisions require producers to report
certain crops by certain deadlines, in
each calendar year, and some FSA
programs require a complete acreage
report for program eligibility. For
example, grasses and other perennial
forages would have been reported to
FSA in the fall of the 2023 calendar year
and captured as an initial crop for the
2024 crop year; however, frequently
perennial grass cover is planted to an
annual crop (such as an eligible
commodity) in the following spring. As
a result of acreage reporting rules, the
annual crop is reported as a subsequent
crop even though this may have been
the producer’s initial intent for the 2024
crop year. Producers of eligible
commodities reported in this manner
had a reasonable expectation of planting
and harvesting the crop in a single crop
year, and they experienced increased
input costs and falling commodity
prices that are intended to be addressed
by ECAP.
In cases where a producer reports
both an initial eligible commodity and
a subsequent eligible commodity on the
same acreage and the combination does
not meet the definition of an approved
3 FSA will calculate ECAP payments for skip-row
acreage based on the total acres devoted to the
commodity without making reductions that are
applicable to other FSA programs, as specified in
7 CFR 718.108.

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double cropping situation, only the
initial commodity will be eligible for an
ECAP payment. This rule applies even
in cases where the initial eligible
commodity failed or was prevented
from being planted. Limiting eligibility
to the initial planting of an eligible
commodity in cases where the producer
could not have reasonably expected to
make use of both ECAP eligible
commodities in a single crop year is
consistent with other programs
administered by FSA (for example,
under the Individual Coverage option
for ARC (see definition of ‘‘double
cropping’’ in 7 CFR 1412.3)).
For ECAP, an exception to that rule
applies when the Federal Crop
Insurance Corporation (FCIC) Small
Grain Crop Provisions allow for a
reduced premium for small grain
acreage that is intentionally destroyed
prior to harvest, which is referred to as
‘‘short-rate.’’ In short-rate scenarios,
producers graze the small grain acreage
and then still have the opportunity to
timely plant a spring commodity with a
reasonable expectation to produce a
normal yield, therefore making use of
both commodities. Acreage that has
been reported with both an insured
initial small grain crop that was
intentionally destroyed before harvest
by grazing or other means and is timely
reported to the producer’s crop
insurance agent in accordance with
section 6 of the FCIC’s Small Grains
Crop Provisions, and is then followed
with a subsequent eligible commodity
that is not an approved double crop
scenario, will be eligible for payment on
both plantings of eligible commodities.
In this scenario, both eligible
commodities are planted within the
recommended planting period and are
expected to result in normal crop
production. While this may not be
considered an approved double
cropping scenario in some counties
under FSA’s acreage reporting
provisions, as both crop plantings could
not be carried to final use in one crop
year, the practice is standard for the
distinct geographic production region
and the producers suffered an economic
loss on both crops.
Volunteer acreage, experimental
acreage, and acreage with an intended
use of green manure or left standing are
not eligible for payment under ECAP
because the producer did not plant the
acreage, or intend to plant the acreage
in cases of prevented planting, for the
purposes specified in section 2102 of
Title I of Division B of the American
Relief Act, 2025.
In cases where the same acreage of a
commodity was reported with two
different intended uses, FSA will not

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issue duplicate payments for that
acreage based on each intended use. If
both intended uses were reported by the
same producer, the producer will
receive one payment based on the
eligible acres of the commodity. If the
two different intended uses were
reported by two different producers, the
producer with responsibility for input
expenses for the acres will be eligible,
and the producer who was not
responsible for the input expenses must
adjust the eligible acreage for that
commodity on their application to
remove those acres. If the producers
shared responsibility for input expenses
for the acreage, each producer must
adjust their eligible acres on their
applications to represent a share of
those acres that is proportional to their
share of the inputs. For example, if 100
acres of wheat were reported by one
producer with an intended use of grain,
and also by a second producer who
leases that land for grazing and has a
lease that requires the second producer
to pay for one-third of the input costs,
the producer reporting the intended use
of grain must adjust their acres to 66.67
acres (two-thirds of 100 acres) and the
producer reporting the intended use of
grazing must adjust their acres to 33.33
acres (one-third of 100 acres).
The American Relief Act, 2025,
provides that eligible acreage that was
prevented from being planted must have
been due to drought, flood, or other
natural disaster, or other condition
beyond the control of the producers on
the farm, as determined by the
Secretary, as provided in 7 CFR 718.103.
For prevented planted acres to be
eligible for ECAP, producers must have
filed a notice of loss on CCC–576, Part
B.
Producers must have reported planted
and prevented planted acres to FSA on
FSA–578, Report of Acreage, to be
eligible for payment. Producers who
have not previously reported their 2024
crop year acreage of eligible
commodities, and filed a notice of loss
for prevented planted crops, may report
their acreage of eligible commodities on
FSA–578 and submit CCC–576 for
prevented planting even if the deadlines
applicable to other FSA programs have
passed. Because ECAP is based on a
producer’s 2024 crop year acreage and
those eligible commodities have already
been harvested or grazed, producers
who submit late-filed acreage reports for
ECAP eligibility will not be required to
pay the cost of a farm inspection and
measurement applicable to other FSA
programs. If requested by FSA, a
producer must also submit additional
documentation supporting the late-filed
acreage report such as seed receipts,

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chemical and fertilizer receipts,
precision planting records, harvesting
records, geospatial data or maps, and
published weather data. Producers must
submit any required additional
documentation within 30 days of the
request. Acreage and prevented planting
reports that are late-filed for ECAP
eligibility will not be used to determine
eligibility for other FSA programs for
which these reports are required and the
deadline applicable to the other
programs has passed.
Eligible Producers
The American Relief Act, 2025,
requires a producer to be actively
engaged in farming, as specified in 7
U.S.C. 1308–1, to be eligible for ECAP.
FSA will administer this requirement
according to the regulations in 7 CFR
part 1400, subparts C and G, which
apply to FSA administered CCC
programs that require a producer to be
actively engaged in farming.
In addition, a producer must be one
of the following to be eligible:
• Citizen of the United States;
• Resident alien, which for purposes
of ECAP means ‘‘lawful alien’’ as
defined in 7 CFR 1400.3;
• Partnership organized under State
law;
• Corporation, limited liability
company, or other organizational
structure organized under State law;
• Indian Tribe or Tribal organization,
as defined in section 4(b) of the Indian
Self-Determination and Education
Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304); or
• Foreign person or foreign entity
who meets all requirements as described
in 7 CFR part 1400.
As required by the American Relief
Act, 2025, the provisions of 7 U.S.C.
1308–3 regarding eligibility of foreign
persons apply to ECAP, and FSA will
administer those requirements as
provided in 7 CFR 1400.401. The
regulations in 7 CFR part 1400, subpart
E, are applicable to foreign persons and
legal entities (foreign and domestic)
containing members, stockholders, or
partners who are not U.S. citizens or
resident aliens that own more than 10
percent of the legal entity.
The American Relief Act, 2025,
specifies that the provisions of 7 U.S.C.
1308 regarding eligibility of Federal
agencies, and State and local
governments apply to ECAP. Federal
agencies are not eligible for ECAP. A
State, political subdivision, or agency
thereof, is not eligible for an ECAP
payment unless both of the following
apply:
• The land for which payments are
received is owned by the State, political
subdivision, or agency thereof; and

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• The payments are used solely for
the support of public schools.
The total of payments to the State,
political subdivision, or agency thereof
cannot exceed $500,000 annually,
except for States with a population less
than 1,500,000, as established by the
most recent U.S. Census Bureau annual
estimate of the State’s resident
population. This limitation is in
addition to the limitation per person or
legal entity described in the Payment
Limitation section of this document. For
States with a population less than
1,500,000, they are subject to the regular
per person or entity limit discussed in
the payment limitation section below.
Payment Rates and Calculation
As specified in section 2102 of Title
I of Division B of the American Relief
Act, 2025, an ECAP payment will be
equal to the greater of:
(1) 26 percent of the product obtained
by multiplying the economic loss for an
eligible commodity, which is the
difference between the expected cost of
production per acre and the expected
gross return per acre for that eligible
commodity, by the eligible acres of that
eligible commodity on the farm; or
(2) The product obtained by
multiplying the following 3 numbers:
(a) 8 percent of the eligible
commodity’s PLC reference price (7
U.S.C. 9011(19)), by
(b) the PLC national average payment
yield for the eligible commodity (7
U.S.C. 9011(15)), and
(c) the number of eligible acres of that
eligible commodity on the farm.
For the purpose of ECAP payment
calculation, FSA has calculated a
payment rate for each eligible
commodity that is equal to the greater
of:
(1) 26 percent of the economic loss
(that is, the difference between the
expected cost of production per acre
and the expected gross return per acre)
for an eligible commodity (referred to as
the ‘‘economic loss payment rate’’ in
this document); or
(2) 8 percent of the eligible
commodity’s PLC reference price,
multiplied by the eligible commodity’s
PLC national average payment yield
(referred to as the ‘‘minimum payment
rate’’ in this document).
The payment rates for each
commodity are shown in Table 1. An
explanation of how these rates were
developed is included in the next
section of this document.

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TABLE 1—PAYMENT RATE (PER
ACRE), BY COMMODITY
Commodity
Barley ....................................
Canola ..................................
Large Chickpeas ...................
Small Chickpeas ...................
Corn ......................................
Cotton ...................................
Crambe .................................
Flax .......................................
Lentils ...................................
Mustard .................................
Oats ......................................
Peanuts .................................
Peas ......................................
Rapeseed .............................
Rice .......................................
Safflower ...............................
Sesame .................................
Sorghum ...............................
Soybeans ..............................
Sunflowers ............................
Wheat ...................................

Payment rate
$21.67
31.83
24.02
31.45
42.91
84.74
19.08
20.97
19.30
11.36
77.66
75.51
16.02
23.63
76.94
26.32
16.83
42.52
29.76
27.23
30.69

To calculate a producer’s ECAP
payment, FSA will multiply the
payment rate for an eligible commodity
by the producer’s eligible acres of that
eligible commodity. FSA will issue
eligible ECAP payments as applications
are approved. ECAP payments will be
prorated by 85 percent to ensure that
payments do not exceed the available
funding. FSA may issue an additional
payment if additional funding remains
available after initial prorated ECAP
payments are issued to eligible
producers based upon the terms of this
NOFA and applications received by the
closing date.
Payment Rate Development
The American Relief Act, 2025,
specifies how to calculate the expected
gross return per acre and expected cost
of production per acre that were used to
determine the payment rates for wheat,
corn, sorghum, barley, oats, cotton, rice,
and soybeans. For these commodities,
the expected cost of production per acre
is equal to the total costs listed for the
2024 crop year with respect to the
applicable eligible commodity
contained in the most recent data
product titled ‘‘national average cost-ofproduction forecasts for major U.S. field
crops’’ published by USDA’s Economic
Research Service (ERS).4 The expected
gross return per acre for those
commodities is equal to the projected
average farm price for the applicable
eligible commodity for the 2024 through
2025 marketing year from the World
4 The ERS document is ‘‘Cost-of-production
forecasts for major U.S. field crops, 2024F–2025F’’
updated on November 14, 2024, available at https://
www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/commodity-costsand-returns.

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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 52 / Wednesday, March 19, 2025 / Notices
Agricultural Supply and Demand
Estimates (WASDE) published on
December 10, 2024,5 multiplied by the
national average harvested yield per
acre for the applicable eligible
commodity for the most recent 10 crop

years.6 The net gross return is the gross
return minus the expected cost-ofproduction.
An example of the resulting payment
calculation used to determine the
payment rate is shown below, in detail,

using corn. The detailed values (a
through e) used in the calculation are
shown in Table 2.

TABLE 2—CORN EXAMPLE PAYMENT RATE CALCULATIONS; VARIABLES FOR ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE PAYMENT
CALCULATIONS AND FINAL PAYMENT RATE (PER ACRE)
10 Year
average
harvested
yield

Crop

Unit

(a)
Corn .....................

174.16

BU

Price
forecast

Forecasted
cost of
production

Net gross
return

26 Percent of
gross loss

Reference
price

National
average
PLC yield

Minimum
payment

(b)

(c)

(a * b)¥c

((a * b)¥c) * 0.26

(d)

(e)

(d * e) * 0.08

4.10

879.10

¥165.04

42.91

3.70

140.76

41.66

Payment rate
(greater of
gross return
vs minimum
payment)

42.91

See Table 3 for sources.

To start, we estimated the net gross
return for corn:
Net Gross Return for Corn = (a * b) =
(174.16 * $4.10) = $714.06
(a * b)¥c = $714.06¥$879.10 =
¥$165.04/acre
The next step is to calculate the
economic loss payment rate for corn:
Economic Loss Payment Rate for Corn
(greater than 0 given economic loss)
= |(a * b)¥c| * 26% = $165.04 * 0.26
= $42.91/acre
Next, as required for the comparison,
we calculated the minimum payment
rate:
Minimum Payment Rate = (d * 8%) * e
= ($3.70 * 8%) * 140.76 = $41.66
per acre
Given that the economic loss payment
rate is greater than the minimum
payment rate, the payment rate for corn
is equal to $42.91 per acre. The payment
per acre is applied to all eligible acres.
For commodities for which the
Secretary determines there is
insufficient data from the USDA sources
noted above, the American Relief Act,
2025, provides that the Secretary will
determine a comparable estimate of
gross returns and a comparable total

estimated cost of production. Eligible
commodities that do not have a price
projection available in WASDE, nor a
cost-of-production forecast in the
‘‘national average cost-of-production
forecasts for major U.S. field crops,’’
include pulse crops (large chickpeas,
small chickpeas, dry peas, lentils) and
certain oilseeds (canola, crambe, flax,
mustard, rapeseed, safflower, sesame,
sunflower). Peanuts do not have a price
forecast published in the WASDE. For
commodities not available in the
WASDE, price projections for the 2024–
2025 marketing year were taken from
the ARC/PLC 2024 Market Year Average
Prices web posting as of January 2025.
This is the only data set published by
USDA that provides crop year price
forecasts for those crops that are not
included in the WASDE, and these
prices are determined using similar
methods as WASDE forecasts.
Regarding cost of production data for
pulses and certain oilseeds, USDA
researched and evaluated agricultural
extension budgets and other sources.
These budgets were not used as they are
based on differing computational
methodologies, can be outdated, and
can vary considerably across states even

with seemingly similar production
environments. Instead, national average
costs of production for pulses and
certain oilseeds were estimated based
on a statistical equation involving crops
with complete data. After the equation
was estimated, analysts applied the
resulting coefficients to the 10-year
NASS average harvested yield and the
ARC/PLC 2024 market year average
price of each commodity with
incomplete data. These sources provide
the best data available reflecting market
conditions for crops with incomplete
data and were used in the estimated
equation to provide production cost
estimates for these crops. These
resulting production costs are reflected
in Table 3, column c, and the
calculation of the payment rate follows
the same methodology as shown above
for corn. For a detailed explanation of
the payment rates for these crops, see
the Economic document that is posted
as a supporting document in Docket ID
FSA–2025–0002 on http://
www.regulations.gov.
The values used for each commodity’s
payment rate calculation are shown in
Table 3. This table includes the data for
all eligible commodities.

TABLE 3—VARIABLES FOR ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE PAYMENT CALCULATIONS AND FINAL PAYMENT RATE (PER ACRE), BY
COMMODITY
Crop

10 Year
average
harvested
yield

Unit

Price
forecast

Forecasted
cost of
production

Net gross
return

26 Percent of
gross loss

Reference
price

National
average
PLC yield

Minimum
payment

(b)

(c)

(a * b)¥c

((a * b)¥c) * 0.26

(d)

(e)

(d * e) * 0.08

lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1

(a)
Barley ................
Canola ...............
Large Chickpeas
Small Chickpeas
Corn ..................

73.35
17.26
12.95
13.64
174.16

BU
CWT
CWT
CWT
BU

$6.60
20.30
33.00
26.00
4.10

5 Projected average farm prices for eligible and
available commodities for the 2024 through 2025
marketing year were taken from the World
Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates

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$472.01
472.80
482.64
475.61
879.10

$12.10
¥122.42
¥55.29
¥120.97
¥165.04

N/A
31.83
14.38
31.45
42.91

published on December 10, 2024, available at
https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usdaesmis/files/3t945q76s/rb690665c/bn99c223f/
wasde1224v2.pdf.

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$4.95
20.15
21.54
19.04
3.70

54.73
16.56
13.94
14.24
140.76

$21.67
26.69
24.02
21.69
41.66

Payment rate
(greater of
gross return
vs minimum
payment)

$21.67
31.83
24.02
31.45
42.91

6 Ten-year average harvested yields were
calculated using 2015 through 2024 yield estimates
from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics
Service.

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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 52 / Wednesday, March 19, 2025 / Notices

TABLE 3—VARIABLES FOR ECONOMIC ASSISTANCE PAYMENT CALCULATIONS AND FINAL PAYMENT RATE (PER ACRE), BY
COMMODITY—Continued
Crop

10 Year
average
harvested
yield

Unit

Price
forecast

Forecasted
cost of
production

Net gross
return

26 Percent of
gross loss

Reference
price

National
average
PLC yield

Minimum
payment

(b)

(c)

(a * b)¥c

((a * b)¥c) * 0.26

(d)

(e)

(d * e) * 0.08

(a)
Cotton ...............
Crambe * ...........
Flax ...................
Lentils ................
Mustard .............
Oats ..................
Peanuts .............
Peas ..................
Rapeseed ..........
Rice ...................
Safflower ...........
Sesame * ...........
Sorghum ...........
Soybeans ..........
Sunflowers ........
Wheat ................

861.60
13.90
18.50
10.73
6.84
66.41
38.86
17.94
18.47
75.49
12.39
4.89
66.73
50.08
16.79
48.24

LB
CWT
BU
CWT
CWT
BU
CWT
CWT
CWT
CWT
CWT
CWT
BU
BU
CWT
BU

0.66
19.10
12.50
34.50
47.90
3.40
26.50
13.80
15.90
15.60
29.90
39.00
4.10
10.20
19.85
5.60

894.56
310.78
311.90
396.01
346.73
524.48
1184.95
292.10
381.98
1314.84
471.71
255.45
437.14
625.29
438.00
388.19

¥325.90
¥45.29
¥80.65
¥25.83
¥19.09
¥298.69
¥155.16
¥44.53
¥88.31
¥137.20
¥101.25
¥64.74
¥163.55
¥114.47
¥104.72
¥118.05

84.74
11.78
20.97
6.71
4.96
77.66
40.34
11.58
22.96
35.67
26.32
16.83
42.52
29.76
27.23
30.69

0.37
20.15
11.28
19.97
20.15
2.40
26.75
11.00
20.15
15.28
20.15
20.15
3.95
8.40
20.15
5.50

1755.59
11.84
19.29
12.08
7.05
51.94
35.28
18.21
14.66
62.92
10.85
3.17
61.90
40.44
14.40
41.48

51.97
19.08
17.41
19.30
11.36
9.97
75.51
16.02
23.63
76.94
17.49
5.12
19.56
27.18
23.21
18.25

Payment rate
(greater of
gross return
vs minimum
payment)

84.74
19.08
20.97
19.30
11.36
77.66
75.51
16.02
23.63
76.94
26.32
16.83
42.52
29.76
27.23
30.69

Table 1 & 3 Sources:
(a) 2015/2016 to 2024/2025 harvested acres from USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) (pulled from QuickStats in January 2025) were used to
calculate the 10-year average harvested yield. Sesame (*) harvested yield estimates are not available in the NASS database. Sesame’s 10-year average harvested
yield was calculated using: (1) harvested acres and production from the 2012, 2017, and 2022 Census of Agriculture; and (2) and the application of the year-to-year
change from NASS canola yield estimates to estimate 2023 and 2024 changes to sesame. Crambe’s (*) 10-year average harvested yield came from internal USDA
estimates of historical crambe yields used for budgetary purposes.
(b) 2024–2025 marketing year price forecasts are from the WASDE published December 10, 2024, for barley, corn, cotton, oats, peanuts, rice, soybeans, and
wheat. The remaining commodities’ price forecasts are from the 2024–2025 ARC/PLC Marketing Year Average Prices.
(c) 2024 costs-of-production forecasts are from USDA’s Economic Research Service’s ‘‘Cost-of-production forecasts for major U.S. fields crops, 2024F–2025F’’ updated on November 14, 2024 (including wheat, corn, sorghum, barley, oats, cotton, peanuts, rice, and soybeans). For commodities that are not available in this publication, a statistical approach was implemented as described above.
(d) ARC/PLC Effective Reference Price for Program Year 2024. Note the reference price for rice is weighted to reflect the price of all three classes (japonica, long
grain, and medium and short grain).
(e) National weighted averaged PLC yields were calculating using PLC yields by county.

lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1

Payment Limitation
As provided by the American Relief
Act, 2025, the total amount of ECAP
payments received, directly or
indirectly, by a person or legal entity
(except a joint venture or general
partnership) may not exceed:
• $125,000, if less than 75 percent of
the average gross income of the person
or legal entity for the 2020, 2021, and
2022 tax years is derived from farming,
ranching, or silviculture activities; and
• $250,000, if not less than 75 percent
of the average gross income of the
person or legal entity for the 2020, 2021,
and 2022 tax years is derived from
farming, ranching, or silviculture
activities.
As specified in the American Relief
Act, 2025, these payment limitations are
separate from the payment limitations
that apply to other programs.
The American Relief Act, 2025, uses
the term ‘‘average gross income’’ for
payment limitations. This term has a
different meaning than ‘‘average
adjusted gross income,’’ which is what
FSA and CCC programs typically use for
purposes of administering payment
limits. In order to implement the use of
‘‘average gross income’’ as required by
the American Relief Act, 2025, ECAP
will use the definition of ‘‘gross
income’’ provided in the Internal

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Revenue Code in 26 U.S.C. 61. FSA is
using this definition because FSA has
not defined the term for any previous
programs. In addition, using the Internal
Revenue Code’s definition is consistent
with Congress’s prior use of this term,
and it will reduce confusion for
producers and their licensed enrolled
agents, certified public accountants, and
attorneys when completing
certifications of adjusted gross farm
income. The term ‘‘gross income’’ is not
used by IRS on tax forms; therefore, to
ensure consistency and provide a logical
approach for producers, average gross
income will be calculated based on the
applicable 3-year average (2020, 2021,
and 2022) of the reported ‘‘total
income’’ on IRS forms 1040, 1041, 1065,
and 1120, or similar reported income.
The portion of a person or legal
entity’s average gross income derived
from farming, ranching, or silviculture
activities will be referred to as their
‘‘average gross farm income,’’ as defined
in this document. As with the use of
‘‘average gross income’’ described
above, ‘‘average gross farm income’’ has
a different meaning than ‘‘average
adjusted gross farm income’’ used in
other FSA and CCC programs. Average
gross farm income includes income
derived from farming, ranching, and
silviculture operations, which has the

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same meaning for ECAP as in other
recent FSA and CCC programs that use
the term ‘‘income derived from farming,
ranching, and forestry operations.’’
Similar to the calculation of ‘‘average
adjusted gross income’’ in other FSA
and CCC programs, if the average gross
farm income derived from the items
listed in the definition of ‘‘income
derived from farming, ranching, and
silviculture operations’’ is at least 66.66
percent of the average gross income of
the person or legal entity, then the
average gross farm income may also take
into consideration income or benefits
derived from the sale, trade, or other
disposition of equipment to conduct
farm, ranch, or forestry operations; and
the provision of production inputs and
production services to farmers,
ranchers, foresters, and farm operations.
Inclusion of those income and benefits
in this manner was first introduced for
the purpose of determining a producer’s
‘‘average adjusted gross farm income’’
by section 1604 of the Food
Conservation and Energy Act of 2008
(Pub. L. 110–234), amending section
1001D of the Farm Security and Rural
Investment Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107–
171). This rule has continued to be used
in other recent FSA and CCC programs
that use determinations of a producer’s
average adjusted gross farm income for

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payment eligibility or payment
limitation purposes.
As provided by the American Relief
Act, 2025, the payment attribution
provisions of 7 U.S.C. 1308(e) apply to
ECAP. A payment made to a legal entity
will be attributed to those members who
have a direct or indirect ownership
interest in the legal entity, unless the
payment of the legal entity has been
reduced by the proportionate ownership
interest of the member due to that
member’s ineligibility.
Attribution of payments made to legal
entities will be tracked through four
levels of ownership in legal entities 7 as
follows:
• First level of ownership—any
payment made to a legal entity that is
owned in whole or in part by a person
will be attributed to the person in an
amount that represents the direct
ownership interest in the first level or
payment legal entity 8;
• Second level of ownership—any
payment made to a first-level legal
entity that is owned in whole or in part
by another legal entity (referred to as a
second-level legal entity) will be
attributed to the second-level legal
entity in proportion to the ownership of
the second-level legal entity in the firstlevel legal entity; if the second-level
legal entity is owned in whole or in part
by a person, the amount of the payment
made to the first-level legal entity will
be attributed to the person in the
amount that represents the indirect
ownership in the first-level legal entity
by the person;
• Third and fourth levels of
ownership—except as provided in the
second level of ownership bullet above
and in the fourth level of ownership
bullet below, any payments made to a
legal entity at the third and fourth levels
of ownership will be attributed in the
same manner as specified in the second
level of ownership bullet above; and
• Fourth level of ownership—if the
fourth level of ownership is that of a
legal entity and not that of a person, a
reduction in payment will be applied to
the first-level or payment legal entity in
the amount that represents the indirect
7 Attribution of payments through four levels of
ownership in legal entities is consistent with the
approach used in other FSA programs specified in
7 CFR 1400.1.
8 There will be a reduction applied for the ‘‘first
level or payment legal entity,’’ and if the payment
entity happens to be a joint venture, that reduction
is applied to the first level, or highest level, for
payments. The ‘‘first level or payment legal entity’’
is the highest level of ownership of the applicant
to whom payments can be attributed or limited. If
the applicant is a business type that does not have
a limitation or attribution, the reduction is applied
to the first level, but if the business type can have
the reduction applied directly to it, then the
limitation applies.

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ownership in the first level or payment
legal entity by the fourth-level legal
entity.
Payments made directly or indirectly
to a person who is a minor child will
be combined with the earnings of the
minor’s parent or legal guardian.
A person or legal entity must provide
the name, address, valid taxpayer
identification number, and ownership
share of each person, or the name,
address, valid taxpayer identification
number, and ownership share of each
legal entity, that holds or acquires an
ownership interest in the legal entity.
ECAP payments to a legal entity will be
reduced in proportion to a member’s
ownership share when a valid taxpayer
identification number for a person or
legal entity that holds a direct or
indirect ownership interest of less than
10 percent at or above the fourth level
of ownership in the business structure
is not provided to USDA. A legal entity
will not be eligible to receive payment
when a valid taxpayer identification
number for a person or legal entity that
holds a direct or indirect ownership
interest of 10 percent or greater at or
above the fourth level of ownership in
the business structure is not provided to
USDA.
If a person or legal entity is not
eligible to receive ECAP payments due
to the person or legal entity failing to
satisfy payment eligibility provisions,
the payment made either directly or
indirectly to the person or legal entity
will be reduced to zero. The amount of
the reduction for the direct payment to
the producer will be commensurate
with the direct or indirect ownership
interest of the ineligible person or
ineligible legal entity.
Indian Tribes and Tribal
organizations, as defined in section 4(b)
of the Indian Self-Determination and
Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C.
5304), are not included in the definition
of ‘‘legal entity’’ specified in 7 U.S.C.
1308; therefore, they will not be subject
to payment limitation.
How To Apply
FSA will generate pre-filled ECAP
applications for producers based on
their acreage of eligible commodities on
FSA–578. Beginning in late-March 2025,
FSA will mail those pre-filled
applications to producers who had
reported their 2024 crop year acreage of
eligible commodities by March 10, 2025.
Producers with a level 2
eAuthentication account or a login.gov
account may complete their application
electronically by visiting https://
www.fsa.usda.gov/ecap.
Applicants must submit the FSA–63
ECAP, Emergency Commodity

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Assistance Program (ECAP) Application,
electronically or to their local FSA
county office 9 by August 15, 2025.
Applicants will submit one application
that includes all eligible acreage in all
counties nationwide.
To apply for ECAP, an applicant must
have also reported their planted and
prevented planted acreage of eligible
commodities to FSA on FSA–578 and
filed a notice of loss for acres that were
prevented from being planted on CCC–
576, if applicable. FSA will not accept
applications on which producers have
manually entered acreage data except in
situations where adjustment of eligible
acres is required as explained in the
Eligible Acreage section of this
document.
Producers who had not reported
planted and prevented planted acreage
on FSA–578 and filed a notice of loss
for prevented planted acreage using
CCC–576 by March 10, 2025, must
submit those forms as described in the
Eligible Acreage section of this
document by August 15, 2025. Once
submitted, FSA will generate a prefilled ECAP application for the producer
to complete and sign.
Applicants must also submit the
following eligibility forms to FSA by
August 17, 2026, if not already on file
with FSA for the 2024 program year:
• AD–2047, Customer Data
Worksheet, for new applicants and
applicants who need to update their
information;
• CCC–901, Member Information for
Legal Entities, if applicable;
• CCC–902E, Farm Operating Plan for
an Entity; if applicable;
• CCC–902I, Farm Operating Plan for
an Individual, if applicable;
• CCC–943, 75% of Average Gross
Income from Farming, Ranching, or
Forestry Certification, for producers and
members of legal entities who are
requesting an increase to the payment
limitation;
• AD–1026 Highly Erodible Land
Conservation (HELC) and Wetland
Conservation (WC) Certification, for the
producer and affiliated persons, as
specified in 7 CFR 12.8; and
• SF–3881, ACH Vendor/
Miscellaneous Payment Enrollment
Form.10
Other Provisions
General requirements that apply to
other FSA-administered commodity
9 To locate the nearest FSA county office, visit the
USDA Service Center locator at https://
www.farmers.gov/working-with-us/service-centerlocator.
10 Applicants who are unable to receive payment
through direct deposit are still eligible to participate
in ECAP. Those applicants should contact their
local FSA county office for further information.

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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 52 / Wednesday, March 19, 2025 / Notices

programs also apply to ECAP. Producers
that receive ECAP payments must be in
compliance with the provisions of 7
CFR part 12, ‘‘Highly Erodible Land and
Wetland Conservation,’’ for the 2024
crop year, and the provisions of 7 CFR
718.6, which address ineligibility for
benefits for offenses involving
controlled substances, for the 2024
program year.
All information provided to FSA for
program eligibility and payment
calculation purposes is subject to spot
check. Participants are required to retain
documentation in support of their
application for 3 years after the date of
approval. Participants receiving ECAP
payments or any other person who
furnishes such information to USDA
must permit authorized representatives
of USDA or the Government
Accountability Office, during regular
business hours, to enter the operation
and to inspect, examine, and allow
representatives to make copies of books,
records, or other items for the purpose
of confirming the accuracy of the
information provided by the participant.
If an ECAP payment resulted from
erroneous information provided by a
participant, or any person acting on
their behalf, the payment will be
recalculated and the participant must
refund any excess payment to FSA with
interest calculated from the date of the
disbursement of the payment. If FSA
determines that the applicant
intentionally misrepresented
information provided on their
application, the application will be
disapproved and the applicant must
refund the full payment to FSA with
interest from the date of disbursement.
Applicants have a right to a decision
in response to their application. If an
applicant submits an application or
required documentation to an FSA
county office after the deadline, the
submission will be considered a request
to waive the deadline. Requests to waive
or modify program provisions,
including requests to waive the
deadline, are at the discretion of the
Deputy Administrator. The Deputy
Administrator has the authority to
waive or modify application deadlines
and other requirements or program
provisions not specified in law, in cases
where the Deputy Administrator
determines: (1) it is equitable to do so;
and (2) the lateness or failure to meet
such other requirements or program
provisions do not adversely affect the
operation of ECAP. Applicants who
request to waive or modify ECAP
provisions do not have a right to a
decision on those requests. The Deputy
Administrator’s refusal to exercise
discretion on requests to waive or

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modify ECAP provisions will not be
considered an adverse decision and is,
by itself, not appealable.
Equitable relief and finality
provisions specified in 7 CFR part 718,
subpart D, apply to determinations
under ECAP. Persons and legal entities
who file an application with FSA have
the right to an administrative review of
any FSA adverse decision with respect
to the application under the appeals
procedures at 7 CFR parts 780 and 11.
The determination of matters of general
applicability that are not in response to,
or do not result from, an individual set
of facts in an individual participant’s
application are not matters that can be
appealed. Such matters of general
applicability include, but are not
limited to, eligible crops, eligible
acreage, payment factors, payment
limitations, and the payment
calculation.
Any payment under ECAP will be
made without regard to questions of title
under State law and without regard to
any claim or lien. The regulations
governing offsets in 7 CFR part 3 apply
to ECAP payments.
As required by the American Relief
Act, 2025, the provisions regarding
denial or program benefits in 7 U.S.C.
1308–2 apply to ECAP. FSA will
administer these requirements
according to the regulations at 7 CFR
1400.5.
In either applying for or participating
in ECAP, or both, the applicant is
subject to laws against perjury
(including, but not limited to. 18 U.S.C.
1621). If the applicant willfully makes
and represents as true any verbal or
written declaration, certification,
statement, or verification that the
applicant knows or believes not to be
true, in the course of either applying for
or participating in ECAP, or both, then
the applicant may be found to be guilty
of perjury. Except as otherwise provided
by law, if guilty of perjury the applicant
may be fined, imprisoned for not more
than 5 years, or both, regardless of
whether the applicant makes such
verbal or written declaration,
certification, statement, or verification
within or outside the United States.
For the purposes of the effect of a lien
on eligibility for Federal programs (28
U.S.C. 3201(e)), USDA waives the
restriction on receipt of funds under
ECAP but only as to beneficiaries who,
as a condition of the waiver, agree to
apply the ECAP payments to reduce the
amount of the judgment lien.
In addition to any other Federal laws
that apply to ECAP, the following laws
apply: 18 U.S.C. 286, 287, 371, and
1001.

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Paperwork Reduction Act
Requirements
In compliance with the provisions of
the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C.
chapter 35), the information collection
request has been approved by OMB
under the control number of 0503–0028.
FSA is providing ECAP payments to
eligible producers of eligible
commodities for the 2024 crop year. The
ECAP payments will help producers of
eligible commodities cope with losses
from natural disasters and a difficult
farm economy, and will help preserve
family farms and ranches across the
country while also continuing to ensure
food and agricultural security for our
nation.
Environmental Review
The environmental impacts of this
notice have been considered in a
manner consistent with the provisions
of the National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321–4347), and
the FSA regulations for compliance with
NEPA (7 CFR part 799).
The purpose of ECAP is to provide
assistance to eligible producers who
suffered economic losses related to
production of eligible commodities for
the 2024 crop year. The Categorical
Exclusions in 7 CFR 799.31 apply,
specifically 7 CFR 799.31(b)(6)(vi) (that
is, safety net programs administered by
FSA). No Extraordinary Circumstances
(7 CFR 799.33) exist. FSA has
determined that this notice does not
constitute a major Federal action that
would significantly affect the quality of
the human environment, individually or
cumulatively. Therefore, FSA will not
prepare an environmental assessment or
environmental impact statement for this
regulatory action.
Federal Assistance Programs
The title and number of the Federal
assistance programs, as found in the
Assistance Listing,11 to which this
document applies is 10.121, Emergency
Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP).
USDA Non-Discrimination Policy
In accordance with Federal civil
rights law and U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) civil rights
regulations and policies, USDA, its
Agencies, offices, and employees, and
institutions participating in or
administering USDA programs are
prohibited from discriminating based on
race, color, national origin, religion, sex,
disability, age, marital status, family or
parental status, income derived from a
public assistance program, political
beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior
11 See

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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 52 / Wednesday, March 19, 2025 / Notices
civil rights activity, in any program or
activity conducted or funded by USDA
(not all bases apply to all programs).
Remedies and complaint filing
deadlines vary by program or incident.
Individuals who require alternative
means of communication for program
information (for example, braille, large
print, audiotape, American Sign
Language, etc.) should contact the
responsible Agency or USDA TARGET
Center at (202) 720–2600 (voice and text
telephone (TTY mode)) or dial 711 for
Telecommunications Relay Service
(both voice and text telephone users can
initiate this call from any telephone).
Additionally, program information may
be made available in languages other
than English.
To file a program discrimination
complaint, complete the USDA Program
Discrimination Complaint Form, AD–
3027, found online at https://
www.usda.gov/oascr/how-to-file-aprogram-discrimination-complaint and
at any USDA office or write a letter
addressed to USDA and provide in the
letter all the information requested in
the form. To request a copy of the
complaint form, call (866) 632–9992.
Submit your completed form or letter to
USDA by: (1) mail to: U.S. Department
of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant
Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400
Independence Avenue SW, Washington,
DC 20250–9410; (2) fax: (202) 690–7442;
or (3) email: [email protected].
USDA is an equal opportunity
provider, employer, and lender.
Kimberly Graham,
Acting Administrator, Farm Service Agency.
[FR Doc. 2025–04604 Filed 3–18–25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–E2–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Foreign-Trade Zones Board
[S–224–2024]

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Approval of Subzone Status; Cummins
Inc.; Irvine, Pennsylvania
On December 20, 2024, the Executive
Secretary of the Foreign-Trade Zones
(FTZ) Board docketed an application
submitted by the Erie-Western
Pennsylvania Port Authority, grantee of
FTZ 247, requesting subzone status
subject to the existing activation limit of
FTZ 247, on behalf of Cummins Inc., in
Irvine, Pennsylvania.
The application was processed in
accordance with the FTZ Act and
Regulations, including notice in the
Federal Register inviting public
comment (89 FR 106423, December 30,
2024). The FTZ staff examiner reviewed

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the application and determined that it
meets the criteria for approval. Pursuant
to the authority delegated to the FTZ
Board Executive Secretary (15 CFR
400.36(f)), the application to establish
Subzone 247D was approved on March
13, 2025, subject to the FTZ Act and the
Board’s regulations, including section
400.13, and further subject to FTZ’s 530acre activation limit.
Dated: March 13, 2025.
Elizabeth Whiteman,
Executive Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2025–04527 Filed 3–18–25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–DS–P

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Bureau of Industry and Security
Materials and Equipment Technical
Advisory Committee; Notice of
Partially Closed Meeting
Bureau of Industry and
Security, U.S. Department of Commerce.
ACTION: Notice of partially closed
meeting.
AGENCY:

The Materials and Equipment
Technical Advisory Committee
(METAC) advises and assists the
Secretary of Commerce and other
Federal officials on matters related to
export control policies; the METAC will
meet to review and discuss these
matters. The meeting will be partially
closed to the public pursuant to the
exemptions under the Federal Advisory
Committee Act (FACA) and the
Government in the Sunshine Act.
DATES: The meeting will be held on
April 3, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.,
Eastern Time. The open session will
start at 10 a.m. and end at
approximately 12 p.m. The closed
session will start at approximately 1
p.m. and end no later than 3 p.m.
Individuals requiring special
accommodations to access the public
meeting should contact TAC@
bis.doc.gov no later than Thursday,
March 27, 2025, so that appropriate
arrangements can be made. Individuals
interested in participating virtually
should contact [email protected] no
later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on
April 1, 2025.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held in
Room 3884 of the Herbert C. Hoover
Building, 1401 Constitution Avenue
NW, Washington, DC (enter through the
Main Entrance on 14th Street between
Constitution and Pennsylvania
Avenues). The public session will be
accessible via teleconference.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tara
Gonzalez, Committee Liaison Officer,
SUMMARY:

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Bureau of Industry and Security, U.S.
Department of Commerce. For
additional information, contact (202)
482–4933 or [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Materials and Equipment
Technical Advisory Committee
(METAC) advises and assists the
Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) and
other Federal officials and agencies with
respect to actions designed to carry out
the policy set forth in Section 1752 of
the Export Control Reform Act. The
purpose of the meeting is to have the
METAC members and U.S. Government
representatives mutually review the
updated technical data and policydriving information that has been
gathered.
Agenda
The public session will include
working group reports, open business
discussions, and industry presentations.
The closed session will include
discussion of matters determined to be
exempt from the open meeting and
public participation requirements found
in sections 1009(a)(1) and 1009(a)(3) of
the Federal Advisory Committee Act
(FACA) (5 U.S.C. 1001–1014).
Open Session Attendance
The open session will be accessible
via teleconference. To participate
virtually, submit inquiries to TAC@
bis.doc.gov. Registration in advance is
required to receive the meeting invite
for virtual attendance. Individuals
interested in participating virtually
should contact [email protected] no
later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on
April 1, 2025. A limited number of seats
will be available for members of the
public to attend the open session in
person on a first-come basis.
Reservations to attend in person are not
accepted. Registration in advance is not
required for in-person attendance, but
you will be asked to sign an attendance
log when you arrive.
Special Accommodations
Individuals requiring special
accommodations to access the public
meeting should contact TAC@
bis.doc.gov no later than 11:59 p.m.
Eastern Time on Thursday, March 27,
2025, so that appropriate arrangements
can be made.
Public Participation
To the extent that time permits during
the open session, members of the public
may present oral statements to the
METAC. The public may submit written
statements at any time before or after the

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