USDA extends SDRP deadline to Sept. 30

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has extended the deadline for farmers to apply for Stages 1 and 2 of the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP) to Sept. 30. Additionally, USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) is providing greater flexibility for farmers who experienced quality losses on eligible crops.

SDRP designated more than $16 billion in disaster relief payments for farmers who suffered revenue, quality or production losses to crops, trees, bushes or vines due to qualifying disaster events in calendar years 2023 and 2024.

As of Aug. 12, Iowa farmers had received $1.19 billion in SDRP assistance, the fourth highest total of any state. Iowa had more than 55,000 approved applications.

Farmers with indemnified loss­­es can apply through SDRP Stage 1, which leverages Federal Crop Insurance or Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) data as the basis for calculating payments. Producers with non-indemnified (including shallow losses), uncovered (uninsured) and quality losses can apply for Stage 2?assistance.?

Eligible farmers can receive SDRP payments for both Stages 1 and 2, if applicable, and for one or both calendar years 2023 and 2024, depending on losses.

Required documentation for SDRP quality losses

Farmers who experienced quality-related losses and discounts can now use verifiable and reliable third-party documentation to demonstrate quality-related discounts on production impacted by natural disasters. Farmers also now have the flexibility to use a quality loss percentage for crops having a final use that is different from their intended use.

For SDRP Stage 1 quality losses, the USDA said some applications weren't generated because the pre-quality adjusted production information used to calculate the Quality Loss Percentage was unavailable.

Farmers who haven't applied for assistance must still file by the deadline even though the needed production information won't be available by the deadline. Once FSA receives missing production data, impacted farmers will be notified and provided with adequate time to review and re-sign SDRP applications.

Farmers can request an application or make an appointment online with their FSA county office at https://www.fsa.usda.gov/fsa-office-locator.