US Coffee Producers Have Until Jan 8 To Apply For $2 Billion USDA Marketing Assistance Program – CoffeeTalk

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) is accepting applications for its $2 billion Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops (MASC) program, aimed at helping specialty crop producers expand markets and manage higher costs. Funded by the Commodity Credit Corporation, MASC was announced in November alongside the $140 million Commodity Storage Assistance Program for facilities impacted by 2024 natural disasters.

Specialty crop growers typically face higher marketing and handling costs due to the perishability of fruits, vegetables, floriculture, nursery crops, and herbs. This marketing assistance program aims to expand U.S. specialty crop consumption and markets by providing financial support to help them engage in activities that broaden and enhance strategies and opportunities for marketing their commodities.

Eligible producers must be in business at the time of application, maintain an ownership share, and share in the risk of producing a specialty crop that will be sold in calendar year 2025. MASC covers commercially marketed specialty crops such as fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, nursery crops, culinary and medicinal herbs and spices, honey, hops, maple sap, tea, turfgrass, and grass seed.

Eligible established specialty crop producers can apply for MASC benefits by completing the FSA-1140, Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops (MASC) Program Application, and submitting the form to any FSA county office by Jan. 8, 2025. New specialty crop producers must certify 2025 expected sales, submit an FSA-1141 application, and provide certain documentation to support reported sales.

For MASC program participation, eligible specialty crop sales only include sales of commercially marketed raw specialty crops grown in the United States by the producer. Payments for established specialty crop growers will be based on the producer’s total specialty crop sales for the calendar year elected by the producer, while payments for new producers will be based on their expected 2025 calendar year sales. FSA will issue MASC payments after the end of the application period, and if demand exceeds available funding, MASC payments may be prorated and the payment limitation of $125,000 may be lowered.

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