USDA’s $16 Billion Disaster Program Sets Aug. 12 Deadline for Farmers
Farmers seeking federal help for qualifying crop, tree, bush and vine losses from disasters in 2023 and 2024 have until Aug. 12, 2026, to apply under both stages of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Supplemental Disaster Relief Program.
The USDA Farm Service Agency issued the reminder July 27 as the deadline approached. The agency says more than $16 billion is available through the program, which is intended to address qualifying revenue, quality or production losses tied to disasters during the two calendar years.
The deadline applies nationwide. Eligibility and payment amounts are not automatic: They depend on documented losses and calculations by USDA.
Two stages cover different types of losses
Stage 1 is for producers with indemnified losses. USDA will use data from Federal Crop Insurance or the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program to determine the relevant losses for that stage.
Stage 2 addresses non-indemnified, shallow, uninsured and quality losses. The separate stages are intended to account for different categories of losses and different types of documentation.
USDA’s announcement does not say that every applicant will receive a payment, nor does it say that the full amount available will be distributed by Aug. 12. The agency also did not provide a current nationwide total of applications or payments associated with the 2026 deadline.
Program deadline was extended
The Aug. 12 deadline follows an extension announced by USDA on April 24. At that time, the agency said the deadline applied to both Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the disaster program.
The April announcement also said USDA had already issued $6.7 billion in Supplemental Disaster Relief Program payments. It documented an increase in the program’s payment factor from 35% to 70%.
That earlier payment figure is a snapshot from the April announcement, not a current total for the program or a prediction of how much will ultimately be paid. The July reminder continued to describe more than $16 billion as available through the program.
Other agriculture deadlines are also approaching
The July 27 USDA announcement listed additional deadlines for producers and landowners. Applications for Assistance for Specialty Crop Farmers, or ASCF, are due Aug. 7, 2026.
The announcement also set Aug. 31, 2026, as the deadline to review base allocations under the Agriculture Risk Coverage and Price Loss Coverage programs, known as ARC/PLC.
USDA says eligible landowners may seek increases to as many as 30 million nationwide base acres through the ARC/PLC review. That figure describes the potential number of new base acres nationwide, not a guaranteed increase for any individual landowner.
What producers need to know
For producers with qualifying losses, the immediate issue is completing the appropriate application before Aug. 12. The program covers losses involving crops, trees, bushes or vines from calendar-year 2023 and 2024 disasters, but eligibility and the eventual payment amount depend on the loss information USDA uses in its calculations.
The next known date for the main disaster program is Aug. 12, when applications for both stages are due. The separate specialty-crop deadline comes earlier, on Aug. 7, while the ARC/PLC base-allocation review deadline follows on Aug. 31.
Sources
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