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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 5 (Wednesday, January 8, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Page 1434]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-00215]

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Notices
                                                Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________

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.

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Federal Register / Vol. 90, No. 5 / Wednesday, January 8, 2025 / 
Notices

[[Page 1434]]

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Commodity Credit Corporation

Farm Service Agency

[Docket ID FSA-2024-0011]

Notice; Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops

AGENCY: Commodity Credit Corporation and Farm Service Agency, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture (USDA).

ACTION: Notice and application extension.

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SUMMARY: The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is announcing changes to the 
available funding, payment limitation, and application deadline for 
Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops (MASC).

DATES: FSA county offices will accept applications for MASC until 
January 10, 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)) or 
dial 711 for Telecommunications Relay Service (both voice and text 
telephone users can initiate this call from any telephone).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    FSA announced MASC in a Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) in the 
Federal Register on December 10, 2024 (89 FR 99212-99220). The NOFA 
announced that the MASC application period began on December 10, 2024, 
and would end on January 8, 2025. This notice is announcing an 
extension of the application period through January 10, 2025; the 
extension is intended to provide public notification of the changes 
announced in this notice in advance of the application period closing.
    The NOFA provided that MASC would use up to $2 billion in Commodity 
Credit Corporation (CCC) funding to provide eligible specialty crop 
producers with marketing assistance payments that will help them engage 
in activities that aid in expanding domestic specialty crop markets or 
in developing new markets for their specialty crops. FSA has determined 
that an additional $650 million in CCC funding is available for this 
purpose, so up to $2.65 billion may be used to provide assistance 
through MASC.
    The NOFA also provided that a person or legal entity, other than a 
joint venture or general partnership, cannot receive, directly or 
indirectly, more than $125,000 in MASC payments. In this notice, FSA is 
announcing that the payment limitation will be increased from $125,000 
to $900,000. FSA is making this change in response to stakeholder 
engagement and feedback received after publication of the MASC NOFA. 
During this time, stakeholders have emphasized the higher marketing 
costs related to specialty crops due to perishability, transporting, 
and packaging, which present greater financial challenges maintaining 
and expanding markets. Stakeholders have also raised concerns that the 
MASC payment limitation was different than the payment limitation for 
specialty crops in some previous programs.\1\ USDA acknowledges the 
concerns expressed by stakeholders regarding the inconsistent manner in 
which program requirements are applied and the impact that this may 
have on producer expectations regarding eligibility and potential 
program benefits to support producers in marketing their commodities.
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    \1\ FSA has applied a payment limitation of $900,000 for 
payments to specialty crop producers under previous programs. For 
both the Emergency Relief Program (ERP) and ERP 2022, producers were 
subject to a $900,000 payment limitation for specialty crops if at 
least 75 percent of the person or legal entity's average adjusted 
gross income was income derived from farming, ranching, and forestry 
related activities. For ERP Phase 1, see the NOFA published May 18, 
2022 (87 FR 30164-30172); for ERP Phase 2, see 7 CFR 760.1906(b)(1); 
for ERP 2022, see the NOFA published October 31, 2023 (88 FR 74404-
74419).
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    The increases in the amount of available funding and the payment 
limitation do not change how FSA will determine the percent payment 
factors used in the MASC payment calculation. As provided in the NOFA, 
if demand for MASC payments exceeds available funding, either MASC 
payments may be prorated, the payment limitation may be lowered, or 
both. The increase to the payment limitation does not change how a 
payment to a legal entity will be attributed to members who have a 
direct or indirect ownership interest in the legal entity; the 
provisions regarding attribution will be applied as provided in the 
NOFA.

Zach Ducheneaux,
Administrator, Farm Service Agency, and Executive Vice President, 
Commodity Credit Corporation.
[FR Doc. 2025-00215 Filed 1-6-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3411-E2-P
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