PART 1414—BRIDGE ASSISTANCE Authority: 15 U.S.C. 714, et seq. Source: 91 FR 8365, Feb. 23, 2026, unless otherwise noted. Subpart A—Farmer Bridge Assistance Program § 1414.1 Applicability. The regulations in this subpart are applicable to producers participating in the Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) Program. Producers who participate in the FBA Program will receive payments from the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) to assist them in the production and marketing of agricultural commodities. Payments will be based on 2025 planted and timely reported acreage of eligible commodities and on payment rates determined by CCC. § 1414.2 Administration. (a) The regulations in this subpart will be administered under the general supervision and direction of the Executive Vice President, CCC. In the field, the regulations in this subpart will be administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) State and county committees (referred to as “State committee” and “county committee,” respectively). (b) State executive directors, county executive directors, and State and county committees do not have authority to modify or waive any of the provisions of this subpart. (c) The State committee may take any action authorized or required by this subpart to be taken by the county committee that has not been taken by the county committee. The State committee may also: (1) Correct or require a county committee to correct any action taken by the county committee that is not in accordance with this subpart; or (2) Require a county committee to withhold taking any action that is not in accordance with this subpart. (d) No delegation in this subpart to a State or county committee precludes the Executive Vice President, CCC or a designee, from determining any question arising under this subpart or from reversing or modifying any determination made by a State or county committee. § 1414.3 Definitions. The definitions in this section are applicable for all purposes of administering this subpart. The terms defined in 7 CFR parts 718 and 1400 are also applicable, except where those definitions conflict with the definitions specified in this section. Where there is a conflict or a difference in definitions specified in this subpart and parts 718 and 1400, the regulations in this subpart will apply. CCC-555 Corn Cotton Crop year Determined acres Double cropping Dry peas Eligible commodity Eligible producer Extra-long staple cotton (1) American-Pima, Sea Island, Sealand, all other varieties of the Barbadense species of cotton and any hybrid thereof, and any other variety of cotton in which 1 or more of these varieties is predominant; (2) The acreage is grown in a county designated as an extra-long staple cotton county by the Secretary; and (3) The production from the acreage is ginned on a roller-type gin. FSA-578 Payment rate Peanuts Rice Skip-row Sorghum Upland cotton [91 FR 8365, Feb. 23, 2026, as amended at 91 FR 55244, Aug. 27, 2026] § 1414.4 Eligible producer. (a)(1) To be eligible for payment under this subpart, a producer must have timely filed an FSA-578 with FSA for their acreage of each eligible commodity for which a payment under this subpart is requested. (2) Federal agencies are not eligible to participate in the FBA Program. (b) An eligible producer is a: (1) Citizen of the United States; (2) Resident alien, which for purposes of the FBA Program, means “lawful alien” as defined in 7 CFR part 1400; (3) Partnership organized under State law consisting solely of citizens of the United States or resident aliens; (4) Corporation, limited liability company, or other organizational structure organized under State law consisting solely of citizens of the United States or resident aliens; or (5) Indian Tribe or Tribal organization, as defined in section 4(b) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). (c)(1) A State, political subdivision, or agency thereof, is eligible for a payment under this subpart if: (i) The land for which payments are received is owned by the State, political subdivision, or agency thereof; and (ii) The payments are used solely for the support of public schools. (2) The total of payments to the State, political subdivision, or agency thereof cannot exceed $500,000 annually, except for States with a population less than 1,500,000, as established by the most recent U.S. Census Bureau annual estimate of the State's resident population. This limitation is in addition to the limitation per person or legal entity described in § 1414.8. States with a population of less than 1,500,000 are subject to the regular per person or entity limit in § 1414.8. (d) To be eligible for assistance under this subpart, a producer must be in compliance with the provisions of 7 CFR part 12 and the provisions of 7 CFR 718.6, which address ineligibility for benefits for offenses involving controlled substances. (e) To be eligible for assistance under this subpart, a producer must be actively engaged in farming. FSA will administer this requirement according to the provisions of 7 CFR part 1400, subparts C and G. (f) A receiver or trustee of an insolvent or bankrupt debtor's estate, an executor or an administrator of a deceased person's estate, a guardian of an estate of a ward or an incompetent person, and trustees of a trust are considered to represent the insolvent or bankrupt debtor, the deceased person, the ward or incompetent, and the beneficiaries of a trust, respectively. The production of the receiver, executor, administrator, guardian, or trustee is considered to be the production of the person or estate represented by the receiver, executor, administrator, guardian, or trustee. § 1414.5 Eligible acres. (a) Eligible acres under this subpart include 2025 crop year acres planted in the United States to an eligible commodity, excluding acreage reported as a cover crop, and acreage with an intended use of grazing, experimental, green manure, left standing, or volunteer. Producers must have reported the acres to FSA on FSA-578 by December 19, 2025, to be eligible for payment under this subpart. (b) FBA Program payments will be based on timely reported acres. If reported acres have determined acres present, determined acres will be used. (c) Planted acreage includes any land devoted to planted acres for accepted skip-row planting patterns, as determined by the Secretary. FSA will calculate FBA Program payments for skip-row acreage based on the total acres devoted to the eligible commodity without making reductions specified in 7 CFR 718.108 that are applicable to other FSA programs. (d) In situations where a producer planted both an initial crop and a subsequent crop on the same acreage for the 2025 crop year, both the initial crop and the subsequent crop will be eligible for the FBA Program if they were eligible commodities. § 1414.6 Time and method of application. (a) Producers must contact an FSA county office to obtain their pre-filled CCC-555 and submit this form to any FSA county office by April 17, 2026. Applicants will submit one application that includes all eligible acreage in all counties nationwide. (b) The date to apply for payments under this program may, at the sole discretion of FSA, be extended. If FSA makes that decision, the extended date will be set forth at https://www.fsa.usda.gov/fba. (c) Producers must also submit the following eligibility forms to FSA by April 19, 2027, if not already on file with FSA for the 2025 program year: (1) CCC-901, Member Information for Legal Entities, if applicable; (2) CCC-902E, Farm Operating Plan for an Entity; if applicable; (3) CCC-902I, Farm Operating Plan for an Individual, if applicable; (4) CCC-941, Average Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) Certification and Consent to Disclosure of Tax Information, for individuals, legal entities, and members of legal entities, excluding joint ventures and general partnerships; and (5) AD-1026 Highly Erodible Land Conservation (HELC) and Wetland Conservation (WC) Certification, for the producer and affiliated persons, as specified in 7 CFR 12.8. § 1414.7 Payment calculation. (a) Payments will be determined by multiplying the eligible acres of an eligible commodity by the payment rate for such commodity. Payment rates are specified in paragraph (b) of this section. (b) The FBA Program payment rates are specified in the following table. Table 1 to Paragraph ( b Eligible commodity Payment Barley $20.51 Canola 23.57 Chickpeas, Large 26.46 Chickpeas, Small 33.36 Corn 44.36 Cotton 117.35 Crambe 0 Flax 8.05 Lentils 23.98 Mustard 23.21 Oats 81.75 Peanuts 55.65 Peas, Dry 19.60 Rapeseed 0 Rice 132.89 Safflower 24.86 Sesame 13.68 Sorghum 48.11 Soybeans 30.88 Sunflowers 17.32 Wheat 39.35 § 1414.8 Payment eligibility and limitation. (a) A person, legal entity, or member of a joint venture or general partnership, as determined in 7 CFR part 1400 in effect on February 23, 2026, cannot receive, directly or indirectly, more than $155,000 under this subpart. The regulations set forth in part 1400 will be used to administer this limitation. (b) A person or legal entity with an average adjusted gross income that exceeds $900,000, as determined according to 7 CFR part 1400, subpart F, will not be eligible to receive benefits, directly or indirectly, under this subpart. § 1414.9 General provisions. (a) All information provided to FSA for program eligibility and payment calculation purposes is subject to spot check. Participants are required to retain documentation in support of their application for 3 years after the date of approval, including verifiable evidence of planted acres of eligible commodities. Participants receiving FBA Program payments or any other person who furnishes such information to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) must permit authorized representatives of USDA or the Government Accountability Office, during regular business hours, to enter the operation and to inspect, examine, and allow representatives to make copies of books, records, or other items for the purpose of confirming the accuracy of the information provided by the participant. (b) If an FBA Program payment resulted from erroneous information provided by a participant, or any person acting on their behalf, the payment will be recalculated and the participant must refund any excess payment to FSA with interest calculated from the date of the disbursement of the payment. If FSA determines that the applicant intentionally misrepresented information included on their application, the application will be disapproved and the applicant must refund the full payment to FSA with interest from the date of disbursement. (c) Any payment under this subpart will be made without regard to questions of title under State law and without regard to any claim or lien. The regulations governing offsets in 7 CFR part 3 apply to FBA Program payments. (d) In either applying for or participating in the FBA Program, or both, the applicant is subject to laws against perjury (including, but not limited to, 18 U.S.C. 1621). If the applicant willfully makes and represents as true any verbal or written declaration, certification, statement, or verification that the applicant knows or believes not to be true, in the course of either applying for or participating in the FBA Program, or both, then the applicant may be found to be guilty of perjury. Except as otherwise provided by law, if guilty of perjury the applicant may be fined, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both, regardless of whether the applicant makes such verbal or written declaration, certification, statement, or verification within or outside the United States. (e) For the purposes of the effect of a lien on eligibility for Federal programs (28 U.S.C. 3201(e)), USDA waives the restriction on receipt of funds under this subpart but only as to beneficiaries who, as a condition of the waiver, agree to apply the FBA Program payments to reduce the amount of the judgment lien. (f) In addition to any other Federal laws that apply to the FBA Program, the following laws apply: 18 U.S.C. 286, 287, 371, and 1001. Subpart B—Assistance for Specialty Crop Farmers Program Source: 91 FR 32311, June 1, 2026, unless otherwise noted. § 1414.101 Applicability. The regulations in this subpart are applicable to producers participating in the Assistance for Specialty Crop Farmers (ASCF) Program. Producers who participate in the ASCF Program will receive payments from the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) to assist them in the production and marketing of agricultural commodities. Payments will be based on 2025 planted and timely reported acreage of eligible specialty crops and on payment rates determined by CCC. § 1414.102 Administration. (a) The regulations in this subpart will be administered under the general supervision and direction of the Executive Vice President, CCC. In the field, the regulations in this subpart will be administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) State and county committees (referred to as “State committee” and “county committee,” respectively). (b) State executive directors, county executive directors, and State and county committees do not have authority to modify or waive any of the provisions of this subpart. (c) The State committee may take any action authorized or required by this subpart to be taken by the county committee that has not been taken by the county committee. The State committee may also: (1) Correct or require a county committee to correct any action taken by the county committee that is not in accordance with this subpart; or (2) Require a county committee to withhold taking any action that is not in accordance with this subpart. (d) No delegation in this subpart to a State or county committee precludes the Executive Vice President, CCC or a designee, from determining any question arising under this subpart or from reversing or modifying any determination made by a State or county committee. § 1414.103 Definitions. The definitions in this section are applicable for all purposes of administering this subpart. The terms defined in 7 CFR parts 718 and 1400 are also applicable, except where those definitions conflict with the definitions specified in this section. Where there is a conflict or a difference in definitions specified in this subpart and 7 CFR parts 718 and 1400, the regulations in this subpart will apply. CCC-556 Beans Caneberries Controlled environment 2 Crop year (1) For crops other than mushrooms, the calendar year in which a specialty crop, or the majority of a specialty crop, was intended for harvest; and (2) For mushrooms, October 1 through September 30. Determined acres Eligible producer FSA-578 Melons Peas Sweet corn § 1414.104 Eligible producer. (a)(1) To be eligible for payment under this subpart, a producer must have timely filed an FSA-578 with FSA for their acreage of each eligible specialty crop for which a payment under this subpart is requested. (2) Federal agencies are not eligible to participate in the ASCF Program. (b) An eligible producer is a: (1) Citizen of the United States; (2) Resident alien, which for purposes of the ASCF Program, means “lawful alien” as defined in 7 CFR part 1400; (3) Partnership organized under State law consisting solely of citizens of the United States or resident aliens; (4) Corporation, limited liability company, or other organizational structure organized under State law consisting solely of citizens of the United States or resident aliens; or (5) Indian Tribe or Tribal organization, as defined in section 4(b) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). (c)(1) A State, political subdivision, or agency thereof, is eligible for a payment under this subpart if: (i) The land for which payments are received is owned by the State, political subdivision, or agency thereof; and (ii) The payments are used solely for the support of public schools. (2) The total of payments to the State, political subdivision, or agency thereof cannot exceed $500,000 annually, except for States with a population less than 1,500,000, as established by the most recent U.S. Census Bureau annual estimate of the State's resident population. This limitation is in addition to the limitation per person or legal entity described in § 1414.9. States with a population of less than 1,500,000 are subject to the regular per person or entity limit in § 1414.9. (d) To be eligible for assistance under this subpart, a producer must be in compliance with the provisions of 7 CFR part 12 and the provisions of 7 CFR 718.6, which address ineligibility for benefits for offenses involving controlled substances. (e) A receiver or trustee of an insolvent or bankrupt debtor's estate, an executor or an administrator of a deceased person's estate, a guardian of an estate of a ward or an incompetent person, and trustees of a trust are considered to represent the insolvent or bankrupt debtor, the deceased person, the ward or incompetent, and the beneficiaries of a trust, respectively. The production of the receiver, executor, administrator, guardian, or trustee is considered to be the production of the person or estate represented by the receiver, executor, administrator, guardian, or trustee. § 1414.105 Eligible specialty crops and payment rates. (a) Table 1 lists the payment groups, eligible specialty crops, and payment rates for the ASCF Program. Table 1 to Paragraph ( a Payment group Eligible commodity Payment rate per acre Tier 1 Aronia (chokeberry), artichokes, blueberries (highbush), breadfruit, Brussels sprouts, cabbage (choy sum, napa), cacao, caneberries, carrots, cauliflower, celery, cherimoya, cherries (sweet), chestnuts, chives (abuchoo/garlic, chives), coconuts, currants, dates, figs, garlic, gooseberries, grapes (fresh), greens (Asian, Chinese spinach/amaranth, cressie, dandelions, escarole, flowering kale, Hanover, hybrid mustard, orach, perilla/shiso, Japanese basil, rape/rapini/Chinese broccoli, Shanghai bok choy, shum choy, sorrell, suk gat, toc choy, yu choy, curly endive, frizee/Belgian endive, arugula, leaf spinach, vine spinach, water spinach), guava, horseradish, kiwiberry, kiwifruit, kohlrabi, kumquat, leeks, lemons, lettuce, limes, lychee, mangos, mushrooms, nectarines, okra, olives, onions, papaya, parsnip, passion fruits, peaches (freestone, semi-freestone cling), peppers (green bell, yellow), persimmons, pineapple, plums, pomegranates, quinces, rhubarb, rutabaga, salsify, shallots, strawberries, turnips $650 Tier 2 Almond, apple, apricot, asparagus, avocados, bananas, beets, blueberries (low bush, rabbiteye), broccoflower, broccoli, broccolini, broccolo-cavalo, cabbage (hybrid, open pollinated, red, savoy), celeriac, cherries (tart), Chinese bitter melon, citron, coffee, cranberries, cucumbers, dasheen, eggplant, grapefruit, grapes (processed), greens (collard, common kale, Chinese mustard,mizuna/Japanese mustard, open pollinated mustard, turnip,Swiss chard (green, red)), macadamia nuts, mandarins/tangerines, melons, melongene, orangelo/Spanish chironja, oranges, parsley, peaches (cling), pears, peppers (Anaheim, banana, cayenne, chilaca, cubanelle, fingerhots, Fresno, gourmet mini, green chili, habanero, hot cherry, Hungarian hot wax, Italian, jalapeno, long johns, mini, oriental red, oriental sweet, paprika, pepino, pimento, poblano, red chili, scratch bonnet, serrano, sport, sweet cherry, tobasco), pistachios, plantain, potatoes, prunes, pummelo, pumpkins, radishes, raisins, squash, sweet potatoes, tangelos, tangors, tangos, taro, tomatillos, tomatoes, walnuts 225 Tier 3 Cashew, cherries (chockcherry, Jamaica), sweet corn, hazelnuts, pecans 65 Beans and Peas Beans, peas 25 (b) Eligible beets do not include sugar beets, which are not considered a specialty crop and are ineligible for the ASCF Program. (c) Grapes are categorized as fresh or processed based on the intended use reported by the producer on FSA-578. (d) CCC may announce additional eligible specialty crops if CCC determines that producers suffered decreased returns resulting from the market challenges considered when determining the eligibility of the specialty crops listed in paragraph (a) of this section. CCC will announce the eligibility of any additional eligible specialty crops on the ASCF web page at https://www.fsa.usda.gov/ascf. § 1414.106 Eligible acres. (a) Eligible acres under this subpart include 2025 crop year acres planted in the United States to an eligible specialty crop, excluding acreage reported as a cover crop, prevented planted, or with an intended use of grazing, left standing, green manure, silage, forage, volunteer, or experimental. To be eligible for payment under this subpart, producers must have reported the acreage planted to these crops to FSA on FSA-578 by April 24, 2026. (b) ASCF Program payments will be based on timely reported acres. If reported acres have determined acres present, determined acres will be used. (c) In situations where a producer planted both an initial crop and a subsequent crop on the same acreage for the 2025 crop year, both the initial crop and the subsequent crop will be eligible for the ASCF Program if they were eligible specialty crops. (d) If a producer has repeated plantings of an eligible specialty crop on the same acreage during the 2025 crop year, all plantings of that crop are eligible for payment under this subpart. (e) Acres grown in a controlled environment, excluding acreage of mushrooms, are not eligible for payment under this subpart. § 1414.107 Time and method of application. (a) Producers must obtain their pre-filled CCC-556 from FSA and submit this form to any FSA county office by August 7, 2026. Applicants will submit one application that includes all eligible acreage in all counties nationwide. (b) The date to apply for payments under this program may be extended and the extended date will be set forth at https://www.fsa.usda.gov/ascf. (c) Producers must also submit the following eligibility forms to FSA by August 9, 2027, if not already on file with FSA for the 2025 program year: (1) CCC-901, Member Information for Legal Entities, if applicable; (2) CCC-902, Farm Operating Plan; (3) CCC-941, Average Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) Certification and Consent to Disclosure of Tax Information, for individuals, legal entities, and members of legal entities, excluding joint ventures and general partnerships; and (4) AD-1026 Highly Erodible Land Conservation (HELC) and Wetland Conservation (WC) Certification, for the producer and affiliated persons, as specified in 7 CFR 12.8. § 1414.108 Payment calculation. Payments will be determined by multiplying the eligible acres of an eligible specialty crop by the payment rate for such specialty crop. Payment rates are specified in table 1 to § 1414.105(a). § 1414.109 Payment eligibility and limitation. (a) A person, legal entity, or member of a joint venture or general partnership, as determined in 7 CFR part 1400 in effect for program year 2025 on June 1, 2026, cannot receive, directly or indirectly, more than $250,000 under this subpart. The regulations set forth in 7 CFR part 1400 will be used to administer this limitation. (b) A person or legal entity with an average adjusted gross income that exceeds $900,000, as determined in accordance with 7 CFR part 1400, subpart F, will not be eligible to receive benefits, directly or indirectly, under this subpart. § 1414.110 General provisions. (a) All information provided to FSA for program eligibility and payment calculation purposes is subject to spot check. Participants are required to retain documentation in support of their application for 3 years after the date of approval, including verifiable evidence of planted acres of eligible specialty crops. Participants receiving ASCF Program payments or any other person who furnishes such information to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) must permit authorized representatives of USDA or the Government Accountability Office, during regular business hours, to enter the operation and to inspect, examine, and allow representatives to make copies of books, records, or other items for the purpose of confirming the accuracy of the information provided by the participant. (b) If an ASCF Program payment resulted from erroneous information provided by a participant, or any person acting on their behalf, the payment will be recalculated and the participant must refund any excess payment to FSA with interest calculated from the date of the disbursement of the payment. If FSA determines that the applicant intentionally misrepresented information included on their application, the application will be disapproved and the applicant must refund the full payment to FSA with interest from the date of disbursement. (c) Any payment under this subpart will be made without regard to questions of title under State law and without regard to any claim or lien. The regulations governing offsets in 7 CFR part 3 apply to ASCF Program payments. (d) In either applying for or participating in the ASCF Program, or both, the applicant is subject to laws against perjury (including, but not limited to, 18 U.S.C. 1621). If the applicant willfully makes and represents as true any verbal or written declaration, certification, statement, or verification that the applicant knows or believes not to be true, in the course of either applying for or participating in the ASCF Program, or both, then the applicant may be found to be guilty of perjury. Except as otherwise provided by law, if guilty of perjury the applicant may be fined, imprisoned for not more than 5 years, or both, regardless of whether the applicant makes such verbal or written declaration, certification, statement, or verification within or outside the United States. (e) For the purposes of the effect of a lien on eligibility for Federal programs (28 U.S.C. 3201(e)), USDA waives the restriction on receipt of funds under this subpart but only as to beneficiaries who, as a condition of the waiver, agree to apply ASCF Program payments to reduce the amount of the judgment lien. (f) In addition to any other Federal laws that apply to the ASCF Program, the following laws apply: 18 U.S.C. 286, 287, 371, and 1001.