WASHINGTON, D.C. (WOWO) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced today that 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).
To expedite the implementation of SDRP, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is delivering assistance in two stages. The first stage is open to producers with eligible crop losses that received assistance under crop insurance or the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program during 2023 and 2024. Stage One sign-up will begin in person at FSA county offices on July 10, and prefilled applications will be mailed to producers on July 9.
“American farmers are no stranger 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.”
This announcement follows Secretary Rollins’ comprehensive plan to deliver the total amount of congressionally appropriated $30 billion in disaster assistance to farmers and ranchers this year. The programs will complement the upcoming state block grants that USDA is working with 14 different states to develop. This expeditious timeline is in direct contrast to the Biden Administration’s USDA, where disaster relief programs took an average of 13 months, and in one case, 19 months, to reach farmers and ranchers.
To date, USDA has issued more than $7.8 billion in Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP) payments to more than half a million eligible producers. Additionally, 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.
USDA disaster assistance information can be found on 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 information, contact your local USDA Service Center.
