DISASTER ASSISTANCE

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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

FARM SERVICE AGENCY FACT SHEET October 2015

Agriculture Priorities and Allocation System (APAS)

OVERVIEW

The Agriculture Priorities and Allocation

System (APAS) is a U.S. Department of

Agriculture (USDA) program that supports

national defense and emergency preparedness 

initiatives by addressing essential civilian needs 

(food and food resources) through the placement of 

priorities or allocations on contracts for items and 

services. The ability to prioritize or allocate items/

services is triggered by a determination by the 

President or other authority that this action is

necessary and essential to promote national

defense.

Under the Defense Production Act of 1950 (DPA), 

the term “national defense” includes emergency 

preparedness, response and critical infrastructure 

and key resources protection. 

Authority for priorities and allocations of contracts 

is found in the DPA and further defined in

Executive Order 13603. DPA is the key source of 

Presidential authorities to expedite supply and

expand productive capacity of materials and

services needed to promote the national defense.

APAS PROCESS

Government agencies or private industries that 

want to place a contract for items/services for 

national defense can request authorization from 

USDA to put a priority rating on that contract. 

This enables the contractor (department or person 

requesting the priority rating) to meet the

requirements of maintaining or restoring national 

defense operations. 

A contractor must submit form AD-2102, Request 

for Special Priorities Assistance, to request priority 

authorization. A written justification for the need to 

use this program must be included with the

AD-2102. APAS is used only when the items/

services that are needed cannot be obtained in a 

timely manner through normal market channels.

RESPONSIBILITIES

USDA APAS responsibilities have been delegated 

to the Farm Service Agency (FSA). The

Emergency Preparedness Division (EPD)

implements the APAS program for FSA.

FSA’s Deputy Administrator for Management is 

responsible for the initial determination of placing 

a priority rating on a contract. The FSA

Administrator is responsible for resolving conflicts 

and hearing appeals on priority ratings.

SCOPE

APAS covers only those government and public 

agencies that have responsibilities under:

• National defense;

• Emergency preparedness and;

• Response and recovery responsibilities. 

Participants eligible to request assistance through 

this program are strictly limited. Only a few 

vendors are able to produce or deliver the large 

quantities of agriculture-related items that will be 

requested through this program. 

Governments that cannot obtain critical resources 

during or in anticipation of an emergency will be 

severely limited in mitigating the effects of the 

hazard on their civilian populations.

EXAMPLE

During the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, 

damaged tracks prevented trains from delivering 

commodities in and around the New Orleans area. 

A federal department placed a priority rated order 

with Company X for railroad construction 

materials to repair track damage. Because this was 

a rated order, Company X was required to fill the 

federal department’s order first, before any other 

orders, unless Company X had a legal reason to 

reject the rated order. 
FACT SHEET

APAS October 2015

The rated order allowed the vendor responsible for 

repairing the railroad track to complete repairs in 

the fastest time possible. Faster track repair 

allowed response organizations to quickly receive 

items in bulk quantities needed to support the mass 

care and housing of those displaced by the 

hurricane. 

PRIORITIES

Under APAS, certain contracts between the 

government and private parties, or contracts 

between private parties, would be given 

priority over other contracts to ensure timely 

delivery of items/services needed to support the 

national defense. Contracts for these items may 

already be in place but may need to be amended, 

or new contracts may be awarded that require 

immediate action as a means to support national 

defense requirements. 

A contract on which a priority rating has been 

placed is called a “rated order.” Rated orders 

require a supplier to fill the order before all other 

unrated orders. The DPA provides liability 

protection to suppliers if they breach other unrated 

contracts in order to fill rated orders.

ALLOCATIONS

Allocation authority will only be used when there 

is an insufficient supply of an item/service to 

satisfy national defense supply requirements 

through the use of priorities authority or when the 

use of the priorities authority would cause a severe 

and prolonged disruption in the retail market place. 

Allocation orders would be distributed 

equitably among the suppliers of the resource(s) 

being allocated and would not require any person 

to relinquish a disproportionate share of the 

civilian market. 

Under no circumstances would allocations be used 

to ration materials or services at the retail level. 

APAS PROGRAM AREAS APPROVED 

FOR USE BY USDA

USDA has two pre-approved programs that have 

been authorized by the Secretary of Homeland 

Security for priorities and allocations support under 

section 202(c) of Executive Order 13603. 

Items/services that may receive a priority rating 

from USDA must fall under either of the following 

two programs to be eligible to receive a rated order 

from USDA.

• Food and food resources 

(civilian): Programs involving food and food 

resources processing and storage in support of 

emergency preparedness activities conducted 

pursuant to Title VI of the Stafford Act.

• Agriculture and food critical 

infrastructure protection and restoration: 

Programs to protect or restore the agriculture 

and food system from terrorist attacks, major 

disasters and other emergencies.

USDA also has a program that was approved by 

the Secretary of Defense for military food rations.

For other items under the jurisdiction of USDA, 

but not covered under USDA’s approved programs, 

USDA will request concurrence from the Secretary 

of Homeland Security before placing a rated order 

for these items/services.

ACCEPTANCE AND REJECTION OF A 

RATED ORDER

A vendor:

• Must accept a rated order and follow 

provisions contained in the priority-rated 

contract if the vendor normally supplies the 

materials or services covered by the order;

• May use the priority rating on the 

primary contract to place a priority rating on 

subcontracts in support of the prime contract;

• Must also accept a rated order if they can fulfill 

the obligations of the contract, but not within 

the required timeframe for delivery, if all 

parties involve can accept the delay;

• May reject a rated order for a delivery on a 

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specific date if they cannot fill it by that date 

or if they are unable to fill it because they are 

in receipt of higher-rated or conflicting rated 

orders;

• Will not discriminate against rated orders in 

any manner such as charging higher prices or 

by imposing different terms and conditions 

than for comparable unrated orders.

If a vendor is unable to accept the rated order, they 

must immediately notify USDA’s Farm Service 

Agency, Emergency Preparedness Division at FSA.

EPD@wdc.usda.gov or 202-720-0135 and the 

order requester. 

A person who was in receipt of a rated order and 

did not comply with the provisions of the contract 

is considered to have willfully violated the DPA 

Act and subject to fine or imprisonment or both per 

§ 789.54.

JURISDICTION

Title I of the DPA and Executive Order 13603 

authorized USDA to have jurisdiction for items 

that fall under the categories of:

• Food resources (including potable 

water packaged in commercially marketable 

containers);

• Food resource facilities;

• Livestock resources;

• Veterinary resources;

• Plant health resources and;

• Domestic distribution of farm equipment and 

commercial fertilizer.

Any vendor or other individual requiring items/

services that do not fall under the jurisdiction of 

USDA should request assistance from DOD or 

DOC. 

APPEALS

Appeal rights to USDA’s Farm Service Agency 

Administrator are available to vendors who do not 

comply with the provisions of a rated order due to 

acceptable hardships or if that vendor believes that 

the order is contrary to the intent of the DPA or 

other statutes.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

For additional information on the APAS program, 

contact the Emergency Preparedness Division 

FSA.EPD@wdc.usda.gov or 202-720-0135.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination against its customers, employees, and applicants 

for employment on the bases of race, color, national origin, 

age, disability, sex, gender identity, religion, reprisal, and 

where applicable, political beliefs, marital status, familial 

or parental status, sexual orientation, or all or part of an 

individual’s income is derived from any public assistance 

program, or protected genetic information in employment or in 

any program or activity conducted or funded by the Department. (Not all prohibited bases will apply to all programs and/

or employment activities.) Persons with disabilities, who wish 

to file a program complaint, write to the address below or if 

you require alternative means of communication for program 

information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) please 

contact USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice 

and TDD). Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have 

speech disabilities and wish to file either an EEO or program 

complaint, please contact USDA through the Federal Relay 

Service at (800) 877-8339 or (800) 845-6136 (in Spanish). 

If you wish to file a Civil Rights program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination 

Complaint Form, found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/

complaint_filing_cust.html, or at any USDA office, or call 

(866) 632-9992 to request the form. You may also write a letter 

containing all of the information requested in the form. Send 

your completed complaint form or letter by mail to U.S. Department of Agriculture, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 

Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, by 

fax (202) 690-7442 or email at program.intake@usda.gov. 

USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

FACT SHEET

APAS October 2015

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