Important Dates
View important dates like upcoming USDA program deadlines and events, and ongoing national USDA programs.
Upcoming Important Dates
View important dates like upcoming national USDA program deadlines and events.
Note: This does not include every deadline and only includes federal deadlines. Check with you local USDA Service Center to learn about all available programs, and programs that have local or state level deadlines.
USDA's Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) accepts applications for it's conservation programs year-round. Producers should apply by their state's ranking dates to be considered for funding in the current cycle. Applications received after ranking dates will be automatically deferred to the next funding period.
USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is providing $1.625 billion through a one-time bridge payment for specialty crops not covered through the previously announced Farm Bridge Assistance (FBA) program. ASCF payments are based on reported 2025 planted acres. Online enrollment opens for producers who have a Login.gov account on June 1, 2026, and enrollment opens at FSA county offices on June 8, 2026. The application deadline for ASCF is August 7, 2026.
Join our free webinars for Native American military veterans and transitioning service members on August 11, 2:00-4:30 pm Eastern and August 12, 2:00-4:00 pm Eastern to learn how USDA can help veterans prepare for a career in production agriculture. This event will provide information about USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher programs and resources for the military community.
Register once to attend both sessions using the link below. It is highly recommended to attend both.
Agenda for Day 1 - August 11, 2:00-4:30 pm Eastern
- USDA Key Personnel Introduction and Overview
- Farm Loans Programs with Jill Thomas, USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA)
- Beginners Guide to Crop Insurance with Sean Patrick and Jeremy NotAfraid, USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA)
Persons with disabilities who require accommodation to participate in this webinar should contact the FSA Outreach Office at fsaoutreach@usda.gov or dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunication relay services.
Join our free webinars for Native American military veterans and transitioning service members on August 11, 2:00-4:30 pm Eastern and August 12, 2:00-4:00 pm Eastern to learn how USDA can help veterans prepare for a career in production agriculture. This event will provide information about USDA Beginning Farmer and Rancher programs and resources for the military community.
Register once to attend both sessions using the link below. It is highly recommended to attend both.
Agenda for Day 2 - August 12, 2:00-4:00 pm Eastern
- Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) with Braden Pitcher, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
- Value-Added Producer Grants (VAPG) with Greg York, USDA Rural Development (RD)
Persons with disabilities who require accommodation to participate in this webinar should contact the FSA Outreach Office at fsaoutreach@usda.gov or dial 7-1-1 to access telecommunication relay services.
The Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP) provides assistance to producers for necessary expenses due to losses of revenue, quality or production of crops due to weather related events in 2023 and 2024. Producers with indemnified losses can apply during the first stage. Stage 1 will leverage Federal Crop Insurance or Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) data as the basis for calculating payments. Producers with non-indemnified (including shallow losses), uncovered (uninsured), and quality losses can apply for Stage 2 assistance. The deadline to apply for Stage 1 and 2 is August 12, 2026.
This webinar will discuss how the new Regenerative Biofuel Feedstock Rule will help farmers voluntarily capture new value from regenerative agricultural practices through biofuel markets. The webinar will also cover how to use the calculator that estimates carbon intensity through the utilization of regenerative practices like no-till, cover crops, and nutrient management. It will be held from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern on Aug. 18, 2026.
Eligible landowners have from June 1, 2026, until August 31, 2026, to review and consider base acre increases on farms enrolled in the Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs. These Base Allocation Summaries can be accessed online at fsa.usda.gov/arc-plc using a Login.gov account. Landowners who do not currently have a Login.gov account are encouraged to contact their local FSA county office to obtain their Base Allocation Summary beginning June 1, 2026.
Ongoing USDA Programs
The following federal USDA programs either do not have a deadline or have ongoing signup. Check with your local USDA Service Center to learn more about programs that have local or state level deadlines.
Crop acreage reports filed with USDA document the crops grown on your farm or ranch and their intended uses. You must file timely acreage reports to be eligible for many USDA programs.
Deadlines to file crop acreage reports vary by crop and by state and county. Farm Service Agency staff at your local USDA Service Center can help by providing you with maps and acreage reporting deadlines by crop for your county. Your crop insurance agent can assist you with reporting information necessary for crop insurance benefits.
July 15 is a major deadline for most crops.
USDA offers a variety of helpful programs with ongoing and localized deadlines to support agricultural producers including:
- Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) which provides funding and technical assistance for farmers and ranchers to restore farmland damaged by natural disasters and for emergency water conservation measures in severe droughts.
- FSA Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) which provides funding to restore privately owned forests damaged by natural disasters.
- Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) which provides financial assistance to producers of non-insurable crops to protect against natural disasters that result in lower yields or crop losses, or prevents crop planting.
- Tree Assistance Program (TAP) which provides financial cost-share assistance to qualifying orchardists and nursery tree growers to replant or, where applicable, rehabilitate eligible trees, bushes, and vines lost by natural disasters.
USDA offers a variety of helpful programs with ongoing and localized deadlines to support livestock producers including:
- Emergency Livestock Assistance Program (ELAP) which provides financial assistance to eligible producers of livestock, honeybees and farm-raised fish for losses due to disease, certain adverse weather events or loss conditions, including blizzards and wildfires, as determined by the Secretary.
- Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP) which provides benefits to livestock owners and some contract growers for livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality caused by eligible loss conditions, including eligible adverse weather, eligible disease and attacks by animals reintroduced into the wild by the federal government or protected by federal law (including wolves and avian predators).
- Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) provides payments to eligible livestock owners and contract growers who have covered livestock and produce grazed forage crop acreage that has suffered a loss of grazed forage due to a qualifying drought during the normal grazing period for the county.
If you are considering a transition to organic farming, the Organic Transition Initiative (OTI) may be helpful to you. OTI has programs across many agencies. For help with natural resources on your farm, often aligned with the required organic management plan, contact your local USDA Service Center to apply.
Past Important Dates
The following list shows past important dates, including past federal USDA program enrollment dates. Check with your local USDA Service Center to learn about programs that are currently open or that have local or state level deadlines.
Nominations are now being accepted for farmers and ranchers to serve on local Farm Service Agency county committees. These committees make important decisions about how federal farm programs are administered locally. All nomination forms for the 2026 election must be postmarked or received in the local FSA office by August 3, 2026.
The Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP) helps landowners, land trusts, and other entities protect, restore, and enhance wetlands; protect the agricultural viability and related conservation values of eligible land by limiting nonagricultural uses of that land that negatively affect the agriculture and conservation values; and protect grazing and related conservation values by restoring or conserving eligible land.
Agricultural producers and private landowners can sign up for the Grassland Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) starting May 4, 2026, through May 29, 2026. Grassland CRP allows producers and landowners to continue grazing and haying practices while conserving grasslands and promoting plant and animal biodiversity as well as healthier soil.
Landowners and producers interested in CRP should contact their local USDA Service Center to learn more.
General CRP helps producers and landowners establish long-term, resource-conserving plant species, such as approved grasses or trees, to control soil erosion, improve water quality and enhance wildlife habitat on cropland. Signup runs March 9, 2026, to April 17, 2026. Interested landowners and producers should contact their local USDA Service Center to learn more or to apply.
USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is accepting applications for the Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) program through April 17, 2026. Producers who have a secure Login.gov account can access and submit their pre-filled application online as well as track their application and payment status.
The Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) provides farmers and ranchers an income source in exchange for removing environmentally sensitive land from agricultural production in an effort to improve environmental health and quality. The first Continuous CRP batching period runs from February 12, 2026, to March 20, 2026.
DMC is a voluntary risk management program that offers protection to dairy producers when the difference between the all-milk price and the average feed price (the margin) falls below a certain dollar amount selected by the producer. Agricultural producers can submit applications to USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) for DMC for the 2026 coverage year from January 12, 2026 to February 26, 2026.