WAWG
Funded by the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020, the Quality Loss Adjustment (QLA) Program provides assistance to producers who suffered eligible crop quality losses due to natural disasters occurring in 2018 and 2019. The deadline to apply for QLA is March 5, 2021.
Eligible crops include those for which federal crop Insurance or Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) coverage is available, except for grazed crops and value loss crops, such as honey, maple sap, aquaculture, floriculture, mushrooms, ginseng root, ornamental nursery, Christmas trees and turfgrass sod.
Additionally, crops that were sold or fed to livestock or that are in storage may be eligible; however, crops that were destroyed before harvest are not eligible. Crop quality losses occurring after harvest, due to deterioration in storage, or that could have been mitigated, are not eligible.
Assistance is based on a producer’s harvested affected production of an eligible crop, which must have had at least a 5 percent quality loss reflected through a quality discount; or for forage crops, a nutrient loss, such as total digestible nutrients. Losses must have been a result of a qualifying disaster event (hurricane, excessive moisture, flood, qualifying drought, tornado, typhoon, volcanic activity, snowstorm or wildfire) or related condition that occurred in calendar years 2018 and/or 2019.
Eligibility for drought related losses is only applicable if the loss occurred in an area within a county rated by the U.S. Drought Monitor as having a D3 (extreme drought) or higher intensity level during 2018 or 2019. Producers in counties that did not receive a qualifying presidential or secretarial declaration or designation may still apply but must also provide supporting documentation to establish that the crop was directly affected by a qualifying disaster event.
To determine QLA eligibility and payments, Farm Service Agency (FSA) considers the total quality loss caused by all qualifying natural disasters in cases where a crop was impacted by multiple events. For more information, visit farmers.gov/quality-loss, or contact your local USDA Service Center.