The Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill) authorized nonrecourse marketing assistance loans (MALs) and loan deficiency payments (LDPs) for crop years 2019 through 2023 for honey. The Further Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act, 2024, was signed by the President on November 16, 2023, extending the 2018 Act MAL’s and LDP’s provisions for the 2024 crop year. The American Relief Act of 2025, was signed by the President on December 21, 2024, extending the 2018 Act MAL’s and LDP’s provisions for the 2025 crop year.
Nonrecourse MALs and LDPs are administered by the Farm Service Agency (FSA) on behalf of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC).
About the Program
Honey MALs can be redeemed by repayment or settled with the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) upon maturity.
Under certain circumstances, producers may repay at less than the loan rate (principal) plus accrued interest and other charges or redeem with a commodity certificate, as applicable.
Alternatively, LDP provisions specify that in lieu of securing a MAL, producers may elect to receive an LDP. An LDP is the difference the producer would have received if a loan was repaid at the lower market price, a direct benefit that does not need to be repaid.
Contact your local USDA Service center to learn more about honey MAL and LDP provisions before you lose beneficial interest, or control and title, in the crop.
Program Availability
Honey MALs and LDPs may be requested beginning on April 1 in the year the honey was produced and extracted.
Final Loan/LDP Availability Date for Honey
The final honey loan/LDP availability date is March 31 of the calendar year after the calendar year in which the honey was produced and extracted.
Loan Rate
The national loan rate for honey for crop years 2019 through 2025 is 69 cents per pound.
Adjusted Gross Income
For the 2019-2025 crop years, producers or legal entities whose average adjusted gross income (AGI) exceeds $900,000, are not eligible for marketing loan gains and LDP payments; but are eligible for MALs that must be repaid at principal plus interest exchanged with a commodity certificate if the lower alternative repayment rate is below the established loan rate.
Payment Limitations
LDPs and marketing loan gains available for crop years 2019 through 2025 are not subject to payment limitation, cash rent tenant, or actively engaged in farming provisions.