Jason Futch news@greenepublishing.com
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced on Wednesday, July 9, agricultural producers who suffered eligible crop losses due to natural disasters in 2023 and 2024 can now apply for $16 billion in assistance through the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP). The program will be through the American Relief Act of 2025.
To expedite the implementation of SDRP, the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) is delivering assistance in two stages. This first stage is open to producers with eligible crop losses who received assistance under crop insurance or the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) during 2023 and 2024. Stage One sign-up started in person at FSA county offices on July 10, and prefilled applications were mailed out to producers on Wednesday, July 9. SDRP Stage Two signups for eligible shallow or uncovered losses will begin in early fall.
“American farmers are no strangers to natural disasters that cause losses that leave no region or crop unscathed. Under President Trump’s leadership, USDA has worked around the clock to deliver this relief directly to our farmers,” said Secretary Rollins. “We are taking swift action to ensure farmers will have the resources they need to continue to produce the safest, most reliable, and most abundant food supply in the world.”
The announcement follows Secretary Rollins’s comprehensive plan to deliver the total amount of $30 billion in Congressionally appropriated disaster assistance to farmers and ranchers this year. These programs will complement the forthcoming state block grants that USDA is working with 14 different states to develop.
According to the USDA, to date, the agency has issued more than $7.8 billion in Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP) payments to more than half a million eligible producers. Additionally, the USDA has provided over $1 billion in emergency relief through the Emergency Livestock Relief Program to producers who suffered grazing losses due to drought or wildfires in calendar years 2023 and 2024.
Eligible losses must be the result of natural disasters occurring in calendar years 2023 or 2024. These disasters include wildfires, hurricanes, floods, derechos, excessive heat, tornadoes, winter storms, freeze (including a polar vortex), smoke exposure, excessive moisture, qualifying drought, and related conditions.
To apply for SDRP, producers must submit the FSA-526, SDRP Stage One Application, in addition to having other forms on file with FSA.
All producers who receive SDRP payments are required to purchase federal crop insurance or NAP coverage for the next two available crop years at the 60 percent coverage level or higher. Producers who fail to purchase crop insurance for the next two available crop years will be required to refund the SDRP payment, plus interest, to the USDA.
FSA will announce additional SDRP assistance for uncovered losses, including non-indemnified shallow losses and quality losses and how to apply later this fall.
USDA disaster assistance information can be found on www.farmers.gov, including the Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool, Disaster-at-a-Glance fact sheet, Loan Assistance Tool, and the FarmRaise online FSA education hub. Payment details will be updated here weekly. For more local information for Madison County farmers and producers, contact the local USDA Service Center in Madison at (850) 973-2205.