Peace Garden News

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will start accepting applications on July 10 for the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP), according to an announcement from Senator John Hoeven, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee and a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee. The program is set to provide $16 billion to help agricultural producers recover from weather-related losses that occurred in 2023 and 2024. This funding is part of the $33.5 billion in disaster relief secured in year-end legislation passed last December.

The first stage of SDRP is available to producers who experienced eligible crop losses and received assistance through either crop insurance or the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) during 2023 and 2024. Prefilled applications are being mailed to producers, who can submit them at county Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices starting July 10. Senator Hoeven had encouraged Agriculture Secretary Rollins to use a streamlined application process for efficiency.

Payments under stage one are determined by the coverage level purchased by the producer, with a payment factor of 35% applied to all payments in this stage. If funds remain after initial payments, FSA may issue a second round of payments. Eligible disasters include wildfires, floods, winter storms, excessive moisture, qualifying droughts, and other events.

A second stage of SDRP will cover shallow or uncovered losses, with sign-up expected to begin in early fall. More information about weather-related assistance is available on the FSA’s website.

“Our farmers faced severe hardship from disasters over the past two years, which are compounded by the difficulties resulting from challenging markets and trade negotiations. As such, this weather-related disaster assistance that we worked to fund and advance will be a welcome relief,” said Hoeven. “At the same time, the improvements we secured to the farm safety net will build upon this assistance, while reducing the need for future ag disaster funding. That’s a win for both producers and taxpayers over the long-term.”

This announcement follows previous market-based and livestock assistance efforts supported by Hoeven. North Dakota producers have received more than $570 million through the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP) and over $11 million via the Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP).