The deadline to apply for the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program has been extended to September 30 and the USDA Farm Service Agency has simplified program requirements to make it easier to apply. SDRP provides payments to agricultural producers who suffered revenue, quality or production losses due to natural disasters in 2023 and 2024.
Producers with indemnified losses can apply through SDRP Stage 1. Those with non-indemnified, uncovered and quality losses can apply for Stage 2 assistance. Eligible producers can receive SDRP payments for both stages, if applicable, and for one or both calendar years depending on losses.
The losses must be due to wildfires, hurricanes, floods, derechos, excessive heat, tornadoes, winter storms, freeze (including a polar vortex), smoke exposure, excessive moisture, qualifying drought and related conditions that occurred in calendar years 2023 and/or 2024.
FSA is now allowing producers to use verifiable and reliable documentation to demonstrate quality-related discounts on production impacted by natural disasters. Producers can provide third-party verifiable documentation (dated within 30 days of harvest) of the grading factors or nutrient tests and acceptable production records that demonstrate affected production. Verifiable third-party documentation for one producer can be considered verifiable for all producers with similar documentation.
FSA county committees also can use knowledge of the disaster event and impact on other producers to determine the reliability of documentation that includes expected price, actual price received due to quality discounts and quantity of affected production.
Producers also can use a quality loss percentage for crops having a final use that was different from their intended use. In these cases, producers can provide acceptable production records documenting the actual production and price received. Online quality loss calculators are available on the SDRP webpage.
Although some production information will not be available before the deadline, producers are still required to file an application by then. Once FSA receives the missing production data, impacted producers will be notified and provided with time to review and re-sign the SDRP application.
Growers are encouraged to contact their local Farm Service Agency for additional guidance on the application.