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USDA’s Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) schedule sets the 2025 rate at $132.89 per eligible reported acre for rice and $117.35 for cotton—the two highest rates in the published table. Those are per-acre rates, not guaranteed payments: an individual’s amount depends on eligible acres and program eligibility. The FBA enrollment period closed on April 17, 2026.
How rice and cotton compare with other published rates
The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) published these FBA rates on Dec. 31, 2025. Rice ranks first and cotton second among the commodities with a rate in the schedule.
| Commodity | Rate per eligible reported acre |
|---|---|
| Rice | $132.89 |
| Cotton | $117.35 |
| Oats | $81.75 |
| Peanuts | $55.65 |
| Sorghum | $48.11 |
| Corn | $44.36 |
| Wheat | $39.35 |
| Small chickpeas | $33.36 |
| Soybeans | $30.88 |
| Large chickpeas | $26.46 |
| Safflower | $24.86 |
| Lentils | $23.98 |
| Canola | $23.57 |
| Mustard | $23.21 |
| Barley | $20.51 |
| Peas | $19.60 |
| Sunflower | $17.32 |
| Sesame | $13.68 |
| Flax | $8.05 |
These figures are USDA’s published per-acre rates, not estimates of total assistance to a farm. The FSA says rates were based on 2025 planted acres, Economic Research Service cost-of-production figures, and the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report; the published materials do not establish a separate impact statistic for rice or cotton. USDA’s rate announcement provides the schedule.
FBA’s eligible-crop list includes commodities that do not appear in the rate table. FSA says crambe had no reported crop acres in 2025 and rapeseed did not trigger an eligible loss, so neither received a published rate.
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How the payment is calculated
For an eligible commodity, FSA calculates payment by multiplying its flat rate by eligible reported acres. The program is acreage-based, not production-based, and FSA says it applies no payment factor. For example, the rice rate is multiplied by the producer’s eligible reported rice acres; it should not be treated as a guaranteed payment for every acre planted.
Double-crop acres, including the initial and subsequently planted crops, are eligible under the program. Prevented-plant acres are not. FSA provides an official FBA payment calculator for estimates; a producer’s actual payment depends on the eligible acres and whether all requirements are met.
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Who qualified for FBA
The program uses crop-year 2025 acreage reports. According to FSA, a producer had to be actively engaged in farming, have risk and interest in the eligible planted commodity, and report eligible acres by 5 p.m. Eastern on Dec. 19, 2025. Late-filed FSA-578 acreage reports submitted after that deadline are not eligible for FBA.
All intended uses are eligible except grazing, experimental, green manure, left standing, or cover crops. Crop insurance linkage is not required, although USDA encourages producers to consider risk-management tools available under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
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- The payment limit is $155,000 per producer.
- A person or legal entity with average adjusted gross income above $900,000 is ineligible, subject to the stated exception for joint ventures and general partnerships.
Enrollment is closed; how to check a payment
The application window ran from Feb. 23 through April 17, 2026, and the FSA program page now says enrollment is closed. USDA’s original announcement said qualifying farmers could expect funds by Feb. 28, 2026; that was an advance expectation, not a guarantee of an individual payment. FSA says payments are issued as applications are approved.
- Open the FSA Farmer Bridge Assistance Program page and use its status-checking service. A secure Login.gov account is required to check application and payment status.
- If you are unsure whether your forms are on file or need help with an individual case, contact your local FSA county office.
USDA’s Dec. 31, 2025 announcement described $12 billion for American farmers, including $11 billion in one-time FBA payments. That program-wide funding figure is not an amount available to an individual producer.
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