'Onerous' reporting requirements prevented many specialty crop farmers from applying for USDA aid

Specialty crop farmers don't grow hundreds of acres of one 
type of plant. (Photo by Zoe Richardson, Unsplash)

Despite the need for an economic boost, many specialty crop farmers chose not to participate in the Department of Agriculture's recent $1 billion Assistance for Specialty Crop Farmers program. 

"Small-scale fruit and vegetable farmers are skipping out on federal farm aid, citing onerous reporting requirements they say are not compatible with their farms and may not substantially pay off," reports Rebekah Alvey of Civil Eats.

Although the USDA let smaller-scale farmers know they had until March 13 to complete their acreage reports to apply for assistance, the agency did not inform them when and how the aid would be distributed. Alvey explains, "Without knowing the potential benefits of the assistance, many specialty-crop farmers decided not to submit an acreage report, disqualifying them from the aid."

The current USDA acreage reporting forms are geared toward commodity row-crop farmers, leaving many specialty farmers unsure how to meet the requirements. Minnesota-based farmer Sara George told Civil Eats, "If you have kale, you have to do acreage reporting of your kale. I don’t plant an acre of kale, I plant two rows of kale.”

An average corn farmer is likely to plant thousands of acres, which is far different from the "small, diversified specialty-crop operations [that] grow a range of crops, on a fraction of an acre of land, and sell to a variety of sources," Alvey explains. "Under those conditions, a detailed crop report can be difficult to put together."

Specialty farmers who chose to apply for the ASCF program were told to work with their local Farm Service Agency to resolve reporting questions, but getting help from the FSA proved difficult for some. "George reached out to [her] local FSA offices with questions about the forms," Alvey reports. "But staff seem to have limited information as well and are also new to filing these reports for specialty crops."

A $700 million regenerative farming pilot program may falter without the needed USDA staff and expertise

Clover is a "workhorse" cover crop used in regenerative
farming. (Photo by Veronica White, Unsplash)

Despite a $700 million budget and farmers excited about the program, the Regenerative Agriculture Initiative may have trouble getting off the ground. "The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service has lost more than 2,000 employees since January 2025, potentially harming the department’s ability to roll out the initiative," reports Claire Carlson of The Daily Yonder.

The initiative was announced last December as a joint effort by the USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services to help farmers incorporate more regenerative farming practices, such as cover crops and no-till farming.

For the most part, the Trump administration's NRCS layoffs mostly terminated newer or early-career employees, who "are the employees who would have likely helped with the rollout of the Regenerative Agriculture Initiative," Carlson reports. "Without the necessary staffing, the initiative could falter — even though it’s likely to be very popular among farmers."

At its current staffing levels, the NRCS doesn't have enough employees to help farmers through the application and award process, and it may lack personnel with the right expertise, Carlson reports. 

When the Regenerative Agriculture Initiative was announced, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy,Jr. and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz issued a shared press release extolling the need for "American farmers [to] adopt practices that improve soil health, enhance water quality, and boost long-term productivity, all while strengthening America’s food and fiber supply."

It's unclear how American farmers can meet those goals without the necessary USDA staff at the Natural Resources Conservation Service to support farmers who want to participate in RAI. Carlson adds, "For farmers planning to apply for funds through the initiative, it’s quite possible their questions to the agency will go unanswered with fewer people on the job to assist."

Specialty crop farmers and corn growers urge lawmakers to make needed changes to upcoming bills

U.S. specialty crops include fruits and vegetables.
(Adobe Stock photo)

U.S. farmers and farming advocates are pushing lawmakers to draft bills that include additional aid for specialty crop growers and include wording that allows for the year-round use of 15% ethanol-blended gasoline (E15), write Pro Farmer editors for Farm Journal.

Many specialty crop growers were disappointed with the Trump administration's 2025 aid package, which allocated $11 billion for row-crop farmers and $1 billion for specialty crop farmers. Specialty crops include fruits, veggies, nuts, nursery crops, Christmas trees and maple syrup.

Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance co-chair Cathy Burns told Nicole Heslip of Brownfield Ag Network, "Specialty crops account for one-third of crop sales in the U.S., and we have the same harmful headwinds that the rest of agriculture is experiencing."

Burns suggested "5 billion in relief would help alleviate some of the unprecedented economic challenges facing growers from labor, input costs, lost markets, and unfair competition from competitors," Heslip writes.

Allowing year-round sales of E15 gasoline has been on farmers' wish lists for years. Michelle Rook of Farm Journal reports, "Analysis from the National Corn Growers Association indicates that it would boost corn use by approximately 2.4 billion bushels annually and be one of the quickest ways to increase demand and chew through the record pile of corn in the U.S."

In the past, states had to apply for waivers to extend E15 sales into the summer months.