***Although dairy is noted as ineligible, this may be of interest for other agricultural production at your farm.

June 2 Deadline For Relief Payments For Past Disasters

Those whose farm production and income suffered due to natural disasters in 2020 and 2021 could potentially receive a payment from the US Department of Agriculture to alleviate the losses through a new program, Emergency Relief Program (ERP) Phase 2. The deadline for applications is June 2. 

The Emergency Relief Program (ERP) Phase 2 is a program that relies on tax and financial records to calculate the losses a farmer experienced because of a natural disaster. ERP provides assistance for crop losses due to certain qualifying disaster events that occurred in calendar years 2020 and 2021. Eligible commodities include crops, trees, bushes, and vines and excludes livestock, livestock by-products (i.e. dairy), timber, and crops for grazing. 

The list of qualifying disaster events:

• Qualifying Drought
• Derecho
• Excessive Heat
• Excessive Moisture
• Flooding
• Freeze
• Named Hurricanes – and excessive wind, storm surges, and tornadoes as a result of hurricanes
• Smoke exposure
• Wildfire
• Winter storm

RAFI (the Rural Advancement Foundation International) has written a blog post outlining the program, eligibility, application requirements, payments, etc.