The regulations in this subpart are applicable to producers participating in the Assistance for Specialty Crop Farmers (ASCF) Program. Producers who participate in the ASCF Program will receive payments from the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) to assist them in the production and marketing of agricultural commodities. Payments will be based on 2025 planted and timely reported acreage of eligible specialty crops and on payment rates determined by CCC.

(a) The regulations in this subpart will be administered under the general supervision and direction of the Executive Vice President, CCC. In the field, the regulations in this subpart will be administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) State and county committees (referred to as “State committee” and “county committee,” respectively).

(b) State executive directors, county executive directors, and State and county committees do not have authority to modify or waive any of the provisions of this subpart.

(c) The State committee may take any action authorized or required by this subpart to be taken by the county committee that has not been taken by the county committee. The State committee may also:

(1) Correct or require a county committee to correct any action taken by the county committee that is not in accordance with this subpart; or

(2) Require a county committee to withhold taking any action that is not in accordance with this subpart.

(d) No delegation in this subpart to a State or county committee precludes the Executive Vice President, CCC or a designee, from determining any question arising under this subpart or from reversing or modifying any determination made by a State or county committee.

The definitions in this section are applicable for all purposes of administering this subpart. The terms defined in 7 CFR parts 718 and 1400 are also applicable, except where those definitions conflict with the definitions specified in this section. Where there is a conflict or a difference in definitions specified in this subpart and 7 CFR parts 718 and 1400, the regulations in this subpart will apply.

CCC-556 means Form CCC-556, Assistance for Specialty Crop Farmers (ASCF) Program Application.

Beans means only the following types of beans: Adzuki, Anasazi, baby lima, black turtle, butter, Canario, Chinese string, cranberry, dark red kidney, fava, flat small white, green garbanzo chickpeas, great northern, green, green baby French (petite), Jacob's cattle, Kentucky blue, kintoki, lablab (hyacinth), large lima, light red kidney, long, lupine, marrow, mayocoba, myothe, mung, October, papadi valor, pea, pink, pinto, pole, pole columbus, roma, shelli, small red, small white navy, snap wax, soldier, sulfur, tebo, tiger eye kidney, velvet, white adzuki, white half runner, white kidney, wing, yardlong, and yellow eye.

Caneberries means only the following types of caneberries: Apache, Arapaho, black raspberries, blackberries, boysenberries, cascadeberries, Chester blackberries, Chickasaw, Doyle blackberries, Estrella/yellow, evergreen blackberries, Kiowa/Ouachita, Kotata blackberries, loganberries, Maravilla, marionberries, Natchez, Navaho, olallieberries, Osage, Prime Ark 45, Prime-Jan, Prime-Jim, red raspberries, tayberries, and triple crown blackberries.

Controlled environment means the use of structures that allow for the manipulation of various environmental factors instead of relying on nature for any period of time during the growing season. This manipulation can be either partially or fully controlled to optimize plant growth, improve consistency, grow without soil, extend the growing period, or to reduce risks from weather, pests, and disease. Examples of such factors are control over temperature, humidity, light levels, nutrient levels, and atmospheric composition such as CO2 concentration. The term “controlled environment” excludes the use of structures to produce seedlings prior to planting for production purposes.

Crop year means:

(1) For crops other than mushrooms, the calendar year in which a specialty crop, or the majority of a specialty crop, was intended for harvest; and

(2) For mushrooms, October 1 through September 30.

Determined acres means that acreage established by an FSA representative by using official acreage, digitizing areas on a photograph or other imagery, or computations from scaled dimensions or ground measurements.

Eligible producer means a producer of an eligible specialty crop who timely filed Form FSA-578 with FSA and who complies with all provisions of this subpart.

FSA-578 means Form FSA-578, Report of Crop Acreage.

Melons means only the following types of melons: canary, cantaloupe, Crenshaw, honeydew, Israel, kiwano (horned), Korean golden, and watermelon.

Peas means only the following types of peas: arvika/4010, black eye, butter, caley, China, cow, cream, crowder, English or garden, flat, marrowfat, mini, partridge, pigeon, pink eyed, purple hull, rondo, snap, snow, southern acre, speckled or colored, sugar, and Umatilla.

Sweet corn means only the following types of corn: sweet bicolor, sweet white, sweet yellow/golden early, and sweet yellow/golden late.

(a)(1) To be eligible for payment under this subpart, a producer must have timely filed an FSA-578 with FSA for their acreage of each eligible specialty crop for which a payment under this subpart is requested.

(2) Federal agencies are not eligible to participate in the ASCF Program.

(b) An eligible producer is a:

(1) Citizen of the United States;

(2) Resident alien, which for purposes of the ASCF Program, means “lawful alien” as defined in 7 CFR part 1400;

(3) Partnership organized under State law consisting solely of citizens of the United States or resident aliens;

(4) Corporation, limited liability company, or other organizational structure organized under State law consisting solely of citizens of the United States or resident aliens; or

(5) 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).

(c)(1) A State, political subdivision, or agency thereof, is eligible for a payment under this subpart if:

(i) The land for which payments are received is owned by the State, political subdivision, or agency thereof; and

(ii) The payments are used solely for the support of public schools.

(2) 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 § 1414.9. States with a population of less than 1,500,000 are subject to the regular per person or entity limit in § 1414.9.

(d) To be eligible for assistance under this subpart, a producer must be in compliance with the provisions of 7 CFR part 12 and the provisions of 7 CFR 718.6, which address ineligibility for benefits for offenses involving controlled substances.

(e) A receiver or trustee of an insolvent or bankrupt debtor's estate, an executor or an administrator of a deceased person's estate, a guardian of an estate of a ward or an incompetent person, and trustees of a trust are considered to represent the insolvent or bankrupt debtor, the deceased person, the ward or incompetent, and the beneficiaries of a trust, respectively. The production of the receiver, executor, administrator, guardian, or trustee is considered to be the production of the person or estate represented by the receiver, executor, administrator, guardian, or trustee.

(a) Table 1 lists the payment groups, eligible specialty crops, and payment rates for the ASCF Program.

(b) Eligible beets do not include sugar beets, which are not considered a specialty crop and are ineligible for the ASCF Program.

(c) Grapes are categorized as fresh or processed based on the intended use reported by the producer on FSA-578.

(d) CCC may announce additional eligible specialty crops if CCC determines that producers suffered decreased returns resulting from the market challenges considered when determining the eligibility of the specialty crops listed in paragraph (a) of this section. CCC will announce the eligibility of any additional eligible specialty crops on the ASCF web page at https://www.fsa.usda.gov/ascf.

(a) Eligible acres under this subpart include 2025 crop year acres planted in the United States to an eligible specialty crop, excluding acreage reported as a cover crop, prevented planted, or with an intended use of grazing, left standing, green manure, silage, forage, volunteer, or experimental. To be eligible for payment under this subpart, producers must have reported the acreage planted to these crops to FSA on FSA-578 by April 24, 2026.

(b) ASCF Program payments will be based on timely reported acres. If reported acres have determined acres present, determined acres will be used.

(c) In situations where a producer planted both an initial crop and a subsequent crop on the same acreage for the 2025 crop year, both the initial crop and the subsequent crop will be eligible for the ASCF Program if they were eligible specialty crops.

(d) If a producer has repeated plantings of an eligible specialty crop on the same acreage during the 2025 crop year, all plantings of that crop are eligible for payment under this subpart.

(e) Acres grown in a controlled environment, excluding acreage of mushrooms, are not eligible for payment under this subpart.

(a) Producers must obtain their pre-filled CCC-556 from FSA and submit this form to any FSA county office by August 7, 2026. Applicants will submit one application that includes all eligible acreage in all counties nationwide.

(b) The date to apply for payments under this program may be extended and the extended date will be set forth at https://www.fsa.usda.gov/ascf. Producers may also obtain that information from any FSA county office.

(c) Producers must also submit the following eligibility forms to FSA by August 9, 2027, if not already on file with FSA for the 2025 program year:

(1) CCC-901, Member Information for Legal Entities, if applicable;

(2) CCC-902, Farm Operating Plan;

(3) CCC-941, Average Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) Certification and Consent to Disclosure of Tax Information, for individuals, legal entities, and members of legal entities, excluding joint ventures and general partnerships; and

(4) 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.

Payments will be determined by multiplying the eligible acres of an eligible specialty crop by the payment rate for such specialty crop. Payment rates are specified in table 1 to § 1414.105(a).

(a) A person, legal entity, or member of a joint venture or general partnership, as determined in 7 CFR part 1400 in effect for program year 2025 on June 1, 2026, cannot receive, directly or indirectly, more than $250,000 under this subpart. The regulations set forth in 7 CFR part 1400 will be used to administer this limitation.

(b) A person or legal entity with an average adjusted gross income that exceeds $900,000, as determined in accordance with 7 CFR part 1400, subpart F, will not be eligible to receive benefits, directly or indirectly, under this subpart.

(a) 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, including verifiable evidence of planted acres of eligible specialty crops. Participants receiving ASCF Program payments or any other person who furnishes such information to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (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.

(b) If an ASCF Program 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 included 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.

(c) Any payment under this subpart 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 ASCF Program payments.

(d) In either applying for or participating in the ASCF Program, 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 the ASCF Program, 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.

(e) 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 this subpart but only as to beneficiaries who, as a condition of the waiver, agree to apply ASCF Program payments to reduce the amount of the judgment lien.

(f) In addition to any other Federal laws that apply to the ASCF Program, the following laws apply: 18 U.S.C. 286, 287, 371, and 1001.