By: Juan Ramirez
The Farm Service Agency (FSA) offers an emergency relief program (ERP) for farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural producers who have suffered losses to crops, trees, bushes, and vines due to a qualifying natural disaster event in calendar years 2020 and 2021. The program provides financial assistance to help producers recover from their losses and continue their operations.
Who can apply?
The emergency relief program is open to any agricultural producer who has suffered losses due to a natural disaster or other emergency. This includes farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural producers who grow crops, raise livestock, or produce other agricultural products.
Application due June 2, 2023.
Underserved producers, including beginning, limited resource, socially disadvantaged and veteran farmers and ranchers, will receive a higher ERP payment, at a percentage rate that will be determined at a later date (must have CCC-860 certification form on file with FSA for the applicable program year to qualify).
Disaster Programs:
- Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP): provides payments to eligible livestock owners and contract growers who have covered livestock and who are also producers of grazed forage crop acreage that have suffered a loss of grazed forage due to a qualifying drought during the normal grazing period for the county.
- Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP): provides benefits to livestock producers for livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality caused by adverse weather or by attacks by animals reintroduced into the wild by the federal government.
- Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish (ELAP): provides emergency assistance to eligible producers of livestock, honeybees and farm-raised fish for losses due to disease (including cattle tick fever), adverse weather, or other conditions, such as blizzards and wildfires, not covered by LFP and LIP.
- Noninsured Disaster Assistance Program (NAP): pays covered producers of covered non insurable crops when low yields, loss of inventory, or prevented planting occur due to natural disasters (includes native grass for grazing). Eligible producers must have purchased NAP coverage for the current crop year and eligible uninsurable crop(s) for that county.
- Emergency Relief Program (ERP): covers losses to crops, trees, bushes, and vines due to a qualifying natural disaster event in calendar years 2020 and 2021. In general, payments for ERP Phase 2 are based on the difference in allowable gross revenue between the selected representative benchmark year(s) and the disaster year(s).
- Pandemic Assistance Revenue Program (PARP): provides critical support to producers impacted by the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak. PARP provides direct financial assistance to producers of agricultural commodities who suffered at least a 15% loss in gross revenue in calendar year 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, based upon a comparison of the producer’s gross revenue from 2020 compared to either 2018 or 2019, as elected by the producer.
- Emergency Grain Storage Facility Assistance Program (EGSFP): provides financial assistance to producers affected in KY, MN, SD, IL, IN, IA, MO, ND, and TN to support grain storage capacity and drying and handling needs for the orderly marketing of commodities following the destruction of large commercial grain elevators as a result of extreme weather.
FSA Outreach, Education, & Technical Assistance services offer technical assistance and education in areas including:
- FSA Processes
- ERP-2 Application
- Post-Award Obligations
- Financial/ Tax Support
- Insurance Coverage Options
- Record-Keeping
- FSA Relief Programs
Conclusion
The emergency relief program provides valuable financial assistance to agricultural producers who have suffered losses due to natural disasters or other emergencies in calendar years 2020 and 2021. If you are an agricultural producer who has suffered a loss, you can request assistance:
- To request assistance under USDA’s FSA ERP-2 Outreach, Education, & Technical Assistance Program, please visit www.lfrinc.org
- Contact Latino Farmers and Ranchers International at info@lfrinc.org
- If you are Located in New Mexico please contact our field representative Antoinette Lucero at (505) 737-4483, email momtreez18@gmail.com
- If you are Located in California please contact our field representative Jesus Pineda at (559) 540-1621, email xuxomp@gmail.com.
- If you are located in Maryland, Virginia or Washington DC, please contact Juan Ramirez at (240) 821-4210, email juan@thetadconsulting.com or Rudy Arredondo at (301) 366-8200, email latinofarmers@gmail.com
- You may also request a printed TA Request Form, then submit the completed form to an FHI Team Member or Collaborator Organization representative.
This program is being developed by Flower Hill Institute in partnership with Latino Farmers and Ranchers International, Farmer Veteran Coalition, Women in Ranching, and Farmer’s Outreach. If you would like to get more information about the ERP-2 you can contact any of the above organizations.
“This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, under agreement number FSA23CPT0012915. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.”