The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Marketing Assistance for Specialty Crops (MASC) initiative updates include an additional $650 million investment.

The Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance (SCFBA) issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's updates to the MASC initiative.

"Specialty crop growers across the U.S. are facing severe and unique challenges. As we wrote in December, the USDA's MASC program is essential in helping growers recover from this economic battering. With today's announcement, we are grateful to the USDA for recognizing that even more was needed. This additional funding will play a critical role in stabilizing farms, ensuring the strength of our industry, and safeguarding the availability of domestically grown specialty crops, including nutrient-dense fruits, vegetables, and tree nuts, which should make up more than half an American's diet.

By increasing payment limitations and extending the application window, the USDA provides growers with the much-needed resources and flexibility to navigate these difficult times."

Updates to the MASC program include:

• An additional $650 million in funding has been added, bringing the total funds available for specialty crop growers to $2.65 billion.
• The payment limitation has been increased from $125,000 to $900,000, acknowledging the higher value of specialty crops compared to other agricultural commodities.
• The deadline for applications has been extended by two days. Applications will now be accepted through Friday, Jan. 10, 2025.

The USDA announcement follows the SCFBA's request in December for additional investment in the MASC program and a modified structure for payment limitations after specialty crop production – which represents nearly half the farm gate value of American agriculture – was left out of the final year-end economic assistance package negotiated by Congressional leaders.