News

New disaster relief program coming soon

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says this disaster relief program will be for crop and livestock producers who had losses from natural disasters last year.

USDA says the 2022 Emergency Relief Program will be divided into two tracks based on federal crop insurance status and will launch at the same time this summer.

Pre-filled applications will be mailed to farmers with crop insurance. Farmers without crop insurance will need to provide revenue information from recent tax records and are asked to contact their local Farm Service Agency office to confirm additional needs.

The 2022 Emergency Livestock Relief Program will reimburse farmers for increases in supplemental feed costs from last year. USDA will also close out the 2021 ELRP by sending 20% of the initial payment to existing recipients.

The 2022 disaster programs require producers to have paperwork on file with their local Farm Service Agency office to qualify. USDA says now is the time to double check before more program details are announced.

Congress has allocated $3.7 billion for 2022 disasters. This is the sixth round of ad-hoc disaster relief since 2017.