By Tyson Redpath, The Russell Group

The deadline to certify 2019 crop acres with the Farm Service Agency (FSA) is today, July 15. Certification is required to be eligible for most FSA programs, including Market Facilitation Program (MFP), which will provide $14.5 billion in direct payments to producers who have been affected by retaliatory tariffs and the ongoing trade dispute with China. Rice has been deemed an eligible commodity for these payments.

More details on the program are expected to be announced this week in the Federal Register. USDA has said applications for the first set of MFP payments could be available by the end of the month and payments could be made as early as mid-August.