The U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that more producers soon will receive applications for over $105 million in additional emergency relief. USDA will indefinitely extend the deadline for producers to return the pre-filled applications for Phase One of the Emergency Relief Program (ERP.) A new deadline will be announced after the last Phase One applications are mailed and provide at least 30 days following the mailing.
Continuing to build on the initial mailing of pre-filled applications in May 2022, the Department will continue using existing information in USDA and crop insurance files, to send additional pre-filled applications starting Monday, August 1, for potentially eligible Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) participants. Once applications from eligible NAP producers are returned, these producers are expected to receive about $105 million in ERP payments, for eligible losses from 2020 and 2021 disasters.
USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is now mailing pre-filled applications to NAP producers through ERP, to offset crop yield and value losses. To receive a relief payment, producers should complete and return the applications by announced deadlines.
Producers are expected to receive assistance direct deposited into their bank account, within three business days after they sign and return the prefilled application to the FSA County office and the County office enters the application into the system. While most crop insurance customers that may be eligible for ERP Phase One received the pre-filed applications in May, there are some who should expect to receive a form in August. This includes:
• Producers who had an eligible loss in 2020 that had been recorded in the crop insurance records as a 2019 loss (e.g., prevented planting claims)
• Producers with policies that required additional information before being able to calculate an indemnity for 2021 losses. Producers with 2020 losses would have already received that application. Policies that required additional information include Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO), Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO), Stacked Income Protection Plan (STAX), Margin Protection Plan (MP), or Area Risk Protection Insurance (ARPI.)
Producers without risk management coverage–through crop insurance or NAP–and those with shallow losses may be covered by the forthcoming Phase Two of ERP.