With the first round of payments based on crop insurance data, the USDA announced on May 16 it will be providing emergency relief to commodity/specialty crop producers who were impacted by natural disasters during 2020 and 2021.
The $6 billion allotted will come through the Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) new Emergency Relief Program (ERP) “to offset crop yield and value losses,” an Agency release said. The ERP website can be accessed at https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/emergency-relief/index .
Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack noted, “For over two years, farmers and ranchers across the country have been hard hit by an ongoing pandemic coupled with more frequent and catastrophic natural disasters. As the agriculture industry deals with new challenges and stressors, we at USDA look for opportunities to inject financial support back into the rural economy through direct payments to producers who bear the brunt of circumstances beyond their control. These emergency relief payments will help offset the significant crop losses due to major weather events in 2020 and 2021 and help ensure farming operations are viable this crop year, into the next growing season and beyond.”
The release said, “For impacted producers, existing Federal Crop Insurance or Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) data is the basis for calculating initial payments. USDA estimates that phase one ERP benefits will reach more than 220,000 producers who received indemnities for losses covered by federal crop insurance and more than 4,000 producers who obtained NAP coverage for 2020 and 2021 crop losses.”
The ERP covers losses to crops, trees, bushes, and vines “due to a qualifying natural disaster event in calendar years 2020 and 2021. Eligible crops include all crops for which crop insurance or NAP coverage was available, except for crops intended for grazing. Qualifying natural disaster events include wildfires, hurricanes, floods, Derechos, excessive heat, winter storms, freeze (including a polar vortex), smoke exposure, excessive moisture, qualifying drought, and related conditions.”
And for drought, “ERP assistance is available if any area within the county in which the loss occurred was rated by the U.S. Drought Monitor as having a:
- D2 (severe drought) for eight consecutive weeks; or
- D3 (extreme drought) or higher level of drought intensity.”
Drought counties eligible for ERP can be found at https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/emergency-relief/index
“To streamline and simplify the delivery of ERP phase one benefits, FSA will send pre-filled application forms to producers where crop insurance and NAP data are already on file. This form includes eligibility requirements, outlines the application process, and provides ERP payment calculations. Producers will receive a separate application form for each program year in which an eligible loss occurred. Receipt of a pre-filled application is not confirmation that a producer is eligible to receive an ERP phase one payment.”
Additional USDA disaster assistance information can be found at https://www.farmers.gov/.
