The U. S Department of Agriculture (USDA) will provide more than $3 billion to commodity and specialty crop producers impacted by natural disaster events in 2022. Eligible impacted producers can apply for financial assistance through the Emergency Relief Program (ERP) 2022. The program will help offset the financial impacts of crop yield and value losses from qualifying disasters occurring in 2022.

ERP 2022 covers losses to crops, trees, bushes and vines due to qualifying, calendar year 2022 natural disaster events including wildfires, hurricanes, floods, derechos, excessive heat, tornadoes, winter storms, freeze (including a polar vortex), smoke exposure, excessive moisture, qualifying drought and related conditions.  

ERP 2022 program benefits will be delivered to eligible producers through a two-track process. FSA intends to make both tracks available to producers at the same time. This two-track approach enables USDA to: 

• Streamline the application process. 
• Reduce the paperwork burden on producers. 
• Proactively include provisions for underserved producers who have not been well served by past emergency relief efforts. 
• Encourage producer participation in existing risk management programs to mitigate the impacts of future severe weather events.   

It’s important to note that disaster-impacted producers may be eligible for ERP 2022 assistance under one or both tracks. To avoid duplicative benefits, if a producer applies for both tracks, the Track 2 payment calculation will take into account any payments received through Track 1.   

ERP 2022 Application Process – Track 1 

ERP 2022 Track 1 leverages existing federal crop insurance or Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) data as the basis for calculating payments for eligible crop producers who received indemnities through these risk management programs.  Although FSA is sending pre-filled ERP 2022 Track 1 application forms to producers who have crop insurance and NAP data already on file with USDA, producers indemnified for losses resulting from 2022 natural disasters do not have to wait to receive the application before requesting ERP 2022 assistance. Effective Oct. 31, 2023, producers can apply for ERP 2022 benefits whether they have received the pre-filled application or not. Receipt of a pre-filled application is not confirmation that a producer is eligible to receive an ERP 2022 Track 1 payment.  

AS NOTED ON YOUR APPLICATON, THE PAYMENT AMOUNT ON TRACK 1 APPLICATION RECEIVED IN THE MAIL IS NOT THE FINAL PAYMENT AMOUNT AND WILL BE SUBJECT TO ADJUSTMENTS.

USDA estimates that ERP Track 1 benefits will reach more than 206,000 producers who received indemnities for losses covered by federal crop insurance and more than 4,500 producers who obtained NAP coverage for the 2022 crop year.    

ERP 2022 Application Process – Track 2 

Track 2 is a revenue-based certification program designed to assist eligible producers who suffered an eligible decrease in revenue resulting from 2022 calendar year disaster events when compared with revenue in a benchmark year using revenue information that is readily available from most tax records. In cases where revenue does not reasonably reflect a normal year’s revenue, Track 2 provides an alternative method for establishing revenue. Likewise, Track 2 affords producers of crops that are used within an operation and do not generate revenue from the sale of the crop a method for establishing revenue for the purpose of applying for ERP 2022 benefits. Producers are not required to submit tax records to FSA unless requested by the County Committee if required for an FSA compliance spot check. 

Although not required when applying for ERP 2022 Track 2, applicants might find the following documents useful to the process: 

• Schedule F (Form 1040)  
• Profit or Loss from Farming or similar tax documents for tax years 2018, 2019, 2022 and 2023.

Track 2 targets gaps in emergency relief assistance for eligible producers whose eligible losses were not covered by crop insurance or NAP including revenue losses too small (shallow loss) to be covered by crop insurance. 

Producers interested in applying for ERP 2022 Track 2, should contact their local FSA county office.  Additional reference resources can be found on FSA’s emergency relief website.

Future Insurance Coverage Requirements  

All producers who receive ERP 2022 payments must purchase crop insurance, or NAP coverage where crop insurance is not available, in the next two available crop years as determined by the Secretary. Purchased coverage must be at the 60/100 coverage level or higher for insured crops or at the catastrophic coverage level or higher for NAP crops.  

More Information 

ERP 2022 eligibility details and payment calculation factor tables are available on the emergency relief website, in the ERP Track 1 and ERP Track 2 fact sheets and through your local FSA county office.

The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in New Jersey is now accepting applications from agricultural producers and forest landowners for the classic Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). Agricultural producers and forest landowners looking to build on conservation efforts while strengthening their operation can apply for technical and financial assistance through CSP and IRA CSP.

Additional CSP funding provided by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) will also be offered during this same application period. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) funds will provide direct climate mitigation benefits for producers to advance conservation through practices like cover cropping, conservation tillage, wetland restoration, prescribed grazing, nutrient management, tree planting and more. 

“The Inflation Reduction Act is a once in-a-generation investment that New Jersey producers and forest landowners have access to," said New Jersey Acting State Conservationist Evan Madlinger. "This funding for climate-smart practices allows us to extend our financial and technical assistance to more clients while having a positive impact on future agricultural operations, forestland, and the surrounding environment.

In administering the IRA climate investments, USDA will also support other environmental co-benefits, including – among other things – water conservation, wildlife habitat improvements, and reducing runoff.

While NRCS accepts CSP and IRA CSP applications year-round, New Jersey producers and landowners should apply by March 29, 2024, to be considered for funding in the current cycle.

CSP is for working lands including cropland, pastureland, and nonindustrial private forest land. Participating farmers will further address priority resource concerns related to soil quality, water quality, air quality, and plant health. On-farm benefits include increased crop yields, decreased inputs, wildlife population improvements, and better resilience to weather variables. For producers who are already taking steps to improve the condition of their land, CSP can help them find ways to meet their goals.

Special provisions are available for historically underserved producers, which include those considered beginning, socially disadvantaged and limited resource as well as military veterans.

To find out more information about CSP please visit the CSP webpage. To locate an NRCS field office near you, please visit the USDA Service Center webpage.  

To apply for CSP, contact NRCS at your local USDA Service Center. Find your local Service Center at www.farmers.gov/service-locator. Service Center staff continue to work with agricultural producers via phone, email, and other digital tools. Because of the pandemic, some USDA Service Centers are open to limited visitors. Contact your Service Center to set up an in-person or phone appointment. On farmers.gov   you can create a secure account, apply for NRCS programs, electronically sign documents and manage your conservation contracts.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.

Are you gardening or farming in an urban environment or involved in controlled environment agriculture, rooftop farms, hydroponic aeroponic, aquaponic facilities or other types of innovative production? Agencies across USDA including the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (OUAIP) have programs and resources available for you, and many are listed in this Urban Agriculture Programs at a Glance brochure.

USDA offers resources to help you:

• Starting, Financing, and Protecting Your Farm or Garden: Our resources can help you access land and capital for equipment and operating costs and start a business plan. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) offers a variety of funding opportunities and Rural Development (RD) can help urban and innovative producers locate guaranteed financing through the Business and Industry Guaranteed Loan Program. Our Risk Management Agency (RMA) can help you insure your crops against losses, including the micro farm policy. Learn more about USDA programs that support risk management.
• On-Farm Guidance and Innovation: Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) offers technical and financial assistance with conservation planning based on your goals, including high tunnels, soil health management systems, composting facilities and irrigation. Local organizations like Cooperative Extension also offer free training and expertise. OUAIP offers competitive grants for NRCS Conservation Innovation Grants fund innovative on-farm projects, some of which are targeted towards urban and innovative producers.
• Marketing and Selling:  FSA, Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), and Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) can help you reach customers in new ways and open additional revenue streams when selling products. The Women, Infants, Children (WIC) Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program and Seniors Farmers Market Nutrition Program issues coupons for eligible foods from state-approved farmers, farmers' markets, or roadside stands. Farm Storage Facility Loans (FSA) provide low-interest loans to build, upgrade, or purchase permanent or portable facilities to store commodities, including fruit and vegetable cold storage, washing, packing, and handling buildings and equipment.

Farmers Market Promotion Program (FMPP) funds projects that develop, coordinate and expand direct producer-to-consumer markets like farmers markets. Agricultural businesses and cooperative are among the eligible entities.

A first step is to contact your local USDA Service Center, including our new Urban Service Centers, to meet face to face with our staff from FSA and NRCS. If you’re a new farmer, you can also reach out to your state Beginning Farmer and Rancher Coordinator.

We also invite you to get involved with your FSA Urban County Committee, which provides local input on USDA urban agriculture policy, and the Advisory Committee for Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production, which advises the Secretary of Agriculture and holds public meetings.

Sign up for e-mail updates on Urban Agriculture and learn more at farmers.gov/urban or usda.gov/urban.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has waived certain notice of loss requirements for 2023 for the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-raised Fish (ELAP) and Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP). In an effort to streamline assistance to support access to critical 2023 natural disaster recovery assistance, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is waiving the requirement to submit ELAP or LIP notices of loss within a pre-determined number of days for 2023. Instead, producers have the flexibility to submit 2023 notices of loss as soon as possible, once losses are realized, following a natural disaster event or no later than the established annual program application for payment deadlines for each program. FSA county committees are also being asked to re-evaluate 2023 ELAP and LIP late-filed notices of loss to determine if the waiver applies.  

Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-raised Fish 

ELAP provides recovery assistance to eligible producers of livestock, honeybee, and farm-raised fish losses due to an eligible adverse weather or loss condition, including blizzards, disease, water shortages and wildfires. ELAP covers grazing and feed losses, transportation of water and feed to livestock and hauling livestock to grazing acres. ELAP also covers certain mortality losses for livestock including honeybees and farm-raised fish as well as honeybee hive losses. ELAP is designed to address losses not covered by other FSA disaster assistance programs.  

For 2023, FSA is waiving the regulatory requirement for producers who are eligible for ELAP to file a notice of loss with FSA within 30 calendar days from when the loss first became apparent for livestock and farm-raised fish and 15 calendar days for honeybees. Under this waiver, notices of loss are to be completed by the eligible producer and submitted to FSA no later than the annual program application deadline of January 30 following the program year in which the loss occurred. Therefore, producers who incurred ELAP-eligible losses in 2023, will need to submit a notice of loss by Jan. 30, 2024. 

Livestock Indemnity Program 

LIP provides disaster recovery assistance to livestock owners and contract growers who experience livestock deaths, in excess of normal mortality caused by eligible loss conditions including adverse weather, disease and attacks by animals reintroduced into the wild by the federal government or protected by federal law, including wolves and avian predators. LIP also helps livestock owners who must sell livestock at a reduced price because of an injury from certain loss conditions. 

For 2023, FSA is waiving the regulatory requirement for producers who are eligible for LIP to file a notice of loss within 30 calendar days from when the loss first became apparent. Under this waiver, producers are still required to complete and submit the notice of loss to FSA no later than the annual program payment application date, which is 60 calendar days following the program year in which the loss occurred. The LIP payment application and notice of loss deadline is Feb. 29, 2024, for the 2023 program year.  

2023 Disapproved Applications 

FSA county committees will review all notices of loss for both ELAP and LIP that were previously disapproved for the 2023 program year due to late filing and re-evaluate them to determine if the waiver applies. To receive ELAP and LIP benefits, producers will still need to file an application for payment by the established program deadline for the 2023 program year. Producers who are unsure about the status of their notice of loss or application for payment, should contact their local FSA county office as soon as possible. 

Supporting Documentation 

Accurate records and loss documentation are critical following disaster events and are required when filing notices of loss with FSA. Acceptable loss documentation includes:  

• Documentation of the number, kind, type, and weight range of livestock that have died, supplemented, if possible, by photographs or video records of ownership and losses. 
• Rendering truck receipts by kind, type, and weight - important to document prior to disposal. 
• Beginning inventory supported by birth recordings or purchase receipts. 
• Documentation from Animal Plant Health Inspection Service, Department of Natural Resources, or other sources to substantiate eligible death losses due to an eligible loss condition. 
• Documentation that livestock were removed from grazing pastures due to an eligible adverse weather or loss condition. 
• Costs of transporting livestock feed to eligible livestock, such as receipts for equipment rental fees for hay lifts and snow removal. 
• Feed purchase receipts if feed supplies or grazing pastures are destroyed.
• Number of gallons of water transported to livestock due to water shortages.

More Information 

The improvements to ELAP and LIP build on others made since 2021. This includes ELAP benefits for above normal costs for hauling feed and water to livestock and transporting livestock to other grazing acres during a qualifying drought. FSA also expanded eligible livestock under ELAP, LIP, and the Livestock Forage Disaster Assistance Program, and increased the LIP payment rate for beef, beefalo, bison, and dairy animals less than 250 pounds and most recently beef calves over 800 pounds. Learn about USDA disaster assistance programs on farmers.gov.  

On farmers.gov, the Disaster Assistance Discovery Tool, Disaster-at-a-Glance fact sheet and Loan Assistance Tool can help producers and landowners determine disaster protection and recovery program or loan options. For more information about FSA programs, contact your local USDA Service Center. 

USDA’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) connects agricultural producers with high-quality and affordable crop insurance sold by approved insurance providers. This includes the specific needs of urban and innovative producers, who may have smaller and more specialized operations.

In this Ask the Expert, Economist Claire White answers questions about RMA programs and opportunities for urban and innovative producers, including the new Controlled Environment crop insurance program. This new option is part of USDA’s broader effort to support urban agriculture and develop new and better markets for American producers.

Claire has been with RMA for over 20 years, writing and improving crop insurance policies. She specializes in nursery and nursery-related products, cotton, small grains, apples, and many others.

Read the interview here.

The Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) helps you manage risk through coverage for both crop losses and crop planting that was prevented due to natural disasters. The eligible or “noninsured” crops include agricultural commodities not covered by federal crop insurance.   

You must be enrolled in the program and have purchased coverage for the eligible crop in the crop year and county in which the loss incurred to receive program benefits following a qualifying natural disaster.

The next closing deadline for New Jersey is December 31st for Asparagus, Beets, Broccoli, Cabbage, Carrots, Cauliflower, Greens, Herbs, Honey, Horseradish, Kohlrabi, Leeks, Lettuce, Parsnip, Peas, Radishes, Rhubarb, Turnips  

See all  New Jersey coverage deadlines: by closing date or by crop .

NAP Buy-Up Coverage Option

NAP offers higher levels of coverage, from 50 to 65 percent of expected production in 5 percent increments, at 100 percent of the average market price. Buy-up levels of NAP coverage are available if the producer can show at least one year of previously successfully growing the crop for which coverage is being requested.

Producers of organics and crops marketed directly to consumers also may exercise the “buy-up” option to obtain NAP coverage of 100 percent of the average market price at the coverage levels of between 50 and 65 percent of expected production.

NAP basic coverage is available at 55 percent of the average market price for crop losses that exceed 50 percent of expected production.   

Buy-up coverage is not available for crops intended for grazing.

NAP Service Fees

For all coverage levels, the NAP service fee is the lesser of $325 per crop or $825 per producer per county, not to exceed a total of $1,950 for a producer with farming interests in multiple counties. 

NAP Fee Waivers and Premium Reductions

Qualified veteran farmers or ranchers are eligible for a service fee waiver and premium reduction, if the NAP applicant meets certain eligibility criteria.

Beginning, limited resource and targeted underserved farmers are eligible for a waiver of NAP service fees and premium reductions when they file form CCC-860, “Socially Disadvantaged, Limited Resource and Beginning Farmer or Rancher Certification.”

Related Losses

NAP covers losses for the crop(s) you lose; losses to your  trees, vines a bushes may be eligible for financial assistance through the Tree Assistance Program (TAP) which assists orchardists and nursery tree growers with the replanting or rehabilitating eligible trees, bushes, and vines lost by natural disasters.

For NAP application, eligibility and related program information, contact your USDA Service Center or visit fsa.usda.gov/nap