USDA has issued over $4 billion in ERP payments

On June 29, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture (USDA) Tom Vilsack announced that to date, agricultural producers have already received more than $4 billion through the Emergency Relief Program (ERP). This accounts for approximately 67 percent of the over $6 billion projected to be paid through this first of two phases of the ERP program. The first phase utilizes existing claim data to provide relief expediently, and the second phase focuses on ensuring producers that are not covered by other programs also receive assistance.

In late May, the USDA mailed out prefilled applications to producers with crop insurance who suffered losses from natural disasters in 2020 and 2021. Vilsack stated that this program has yielded its desired results by reducing burdens while expediting payments to approximately 120,000 disaster impacted agricultural producers.

Producers should check with the Farm Service Agency (FSA) at their local USDA Service Center to confirm eligibility for these relief programs. Commodity and specialty crop producers have until July 22 to complete these applications. Find other resources and learn more here.