Phillips County USDA Bulletin Lists Farmer Bridge Payments, CRP and NAP Deadlines

The Phillips County USDA Service Center's March 16 bulletin landed in local producers' hands with a clear priority: the Farmer Bridge Assistance program is open, $11 billion is on the table, and the enrollment window closes April 17, 2026.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced the FBA program February 20, with enrollment opening three days later on February 23. The program delivers one-time bridge payments to row crop producers, authorized under the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act and administered by the Farm Service Agency. The stated purpose is to offset temporary trade market disruptions and increased production costs while farmers wait for larger structural relief.

That larger relief is tied to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which is expected to raise reference prices between 10 and 21 percent for major covered commodities. Those increases are set to reach eligible farmers after October 1, 2026, making the FBA payment an explicit bridge between now and that date.

Specialty crop growers in Phillips County face a different timeline and a deadline that has already passed. Secretary Rollins announced the Assistance for Specialty Crop Farmers program on February 13, describing it as a one-time bridge payment to address market disruptions, elevated input costs, persistent inflation, and losses caused by foreign competitors engaging in unfair trade practices that impede exports. Specialty crop producers were required to report their 2025 acres to the Farm Service Agency by March 13, 2026.

The March 16 bulletin also referenced Conservation Reserve Program and Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program deadlines, though the specific dates for those programs were not detailed in the bulletin summary distributed to producers. Row crop producers still have time to act on FBA before the April 17 cutoff.

Additional information on both the FBA and ASCF programs is available at fsa.usda.gov/fba. Producers can also reach the Phillips County USDA Service Center directly through their local FSA county office.