U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced this week that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is issuing up to $10 billion directly to agricultural producers through the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP) for the 2024 crop year.
Taylor Sills, executive director of the Georgia Cotton Commission (GCC), applauded the USDA’s announcement.
Colquitt County cotton producer Bart Davis, who also serves as the Chairman of the Georgia Cotton Commission, added, “We again thank Congress for the passage of the bill that included this program, and are especially appreciative of President Trump, Secretary Rollins, and the entire team at USDA for making implementation of ECAP a priority.” ”
Authorized by the American Relief Act, 2025, these economic relief payments are based on planted and prevented planted crop acres for eligible commodities for the 2024 crop year. The signup period opened on March 19. Producers do not have to wait for their pre-filled ECAP application to apply. They can visit fsa.usda.gov/ecap to apply using a login.gov account or contact their local FSA office to request an application once the signup period opens.
Producer Eligibility
Eligible producers must report 2024 crop year planted and prevented planted acres to FSA on an FSA-578, Report of Acreage form. Producers who have not previously reported 2024 crop year acreage or filed a notice of loss for prevented planted crops must submit an acreage report by the Aug. 15, 2025, deadline. Eligible producers can visit fsa.usda.gov/ecap for eligibility and payment details.
Click here for more information about ECAP.