The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) opened enrollment on July 10 for the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP), which provides assistance for eligible crop losses due to natural disasters in 2023 and 2024.

Eligible U.S. Drought Monitor Losses

To qualify for drought related losses, the loss must have occurred in a county rated by the U.S. Drought Monitoras having a D2 (severe drought) for eight consecutive weeks, D3 (extreme drought), or greater intensity level during the applicable calendar year. View the list of counties eligible for SDRP due to qualifying drought for 2023 and 2024.

Other Eligible Disaster Events and Related Conditions

Producers who received an indemnity in 2023 or 2024 but did not qualify based on the U.S. Drought monitor may still be eligible for assistance. If your county did not trigger based on the U.S. Drought Monitor, do not certify “drought” as the cause of loss on your application as it will not be approved. Instead, producers should review all qualifying disaster events and related conditions such as excessive heat or excessive wind and select all applicable causes of loss.

Below is a list of all qualifying disaster events with the eligible related conditions in parentheses:

· Wildfires

· Hurricanes (including related excessive wind, storm surges, tornadoes, tropical storms, and tropical depression)

· Floods (including related silt and debris)

· Derechos (including related excessive wind)

· Excessive heat

· Tornadoes

· Winter storms (including related blizzard and excessive wind)

· Freeze (including a polar vortex)

· Smoke exposure

· Excessive moisture

· Qualifying drought

Related conditions must have occurred as a direct result of the indicated disaster event.

Losses due to Hail

Hail is not a qualifying disaster event, but you may be eligible if it was directly related to a qualifying disaster event.

For example, if a producer’s crop suffered damage from hail, but the hail damage was directly related to a tornado, then this would qualify for an SDRP payment since tornado is a qualifying disaster event.

Documentation for Spot Checks

Producers who certify that a qualifying disaster event caused the loss should be prepared to provide documentation to support their self-certification if they are selected for a spot check. Documentation is not required to be submitted with your application. Additionally, producers are not required to verify the cause of loss with their crop insurance agent.

Producers should complete the pre-filled application that was mailed on July 9. If you received a crop insurance indemnity in 2023 or 2024 and did not receive an application, please visit your local FSA office and they can print your pre-filled application.

For additional help with your application, please review the FSA-526 Instructions for Stage 1. Learn more about SDRP, eligibility and future insurance requirements by visiting fsa.usda.gov/sdrp.

A farmers.gov account provides self-service opportunities to Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) customers through a secure, authenticated access process.

A new feature now provides access to your current or prior year FSA-578, Report of Commodities (Nationwide Producer Print). Your FSA-578 contains annual crop acreage reporting information submitted to USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA). If you are a shareholder (operator, owner or other producer) for a crop on the acreage report, you will be able to view, save and/or print your selected annual FSA-578.

How to Access Your FSA-578’s

From the Land tab in your farmers.gov account, click Land Overview on the navigation drop-down. On the Land Overview page, you will see an information block that states “View and Print Your Acreage Reports” containing a View Your FSA-578 button.

Clicking the button will open a popup modal with a drop-down menu to select the acreage report year. Once you have selected a year, the View FSA-578 button becomes active. Clicking the button will open a new tab with a message indicating the PDF file is being loaded. Once the load is complete, the FSA-578, Report of Commodities (Nationwide Producer Print) PDF document is displayed. You can view, save and/or print the FSA-578 as needed.

If there is no acreage report information on file for the selected acreage report year, the PDF will display the message, “This producer does not have a producer print currently available.”

How to Access FSA-578s Using Your Representative Authority to Act on Behalf of Another Customer

Additionally, if you have been granted the authority to act on behalf of another individual or entity, you can use the yellow banner to “Switch Profile” and view the current or prior year FSA-578, Report of Commodities (Nationwide Producer Print) for the customer you on whose behalf you have been elected to act.

Contact your local FSA office for more information or questions regarding your FSA-578, Report of Commodities (Nationwide Producer Print) or if you have questions regarding establishing representative authority or do not see the expected representative authority options when you log in.

More information can be found in the farmers.gov Fact Sheet and video tutorials. Visit the farmers.gov Account page to log in or learn how to create an account.

Farm Service Agency (FSA) farm loans are considered progression lending. Unlike loans from a commercial lender, FSA loans are intended to be temporary in nature. Our goal is to help you graduate to commercial credit, and our farm loan staff is available to help borrowers through training and credit counseling.

The FSA team will help borrowers identify their goals to ensure financial success. FSA staff will advise borrowers on developing strategies and a plan to meet your goals and graduate to commercial credit. FSA borrowers are responsible for the success of their farming operation, but FSA staff will help in an advisory role, providing the tools necessary to help you achieve your operational goals and manage your finances.

For more information on FSA farm loan programs, contact your county office or visit fsa.usda.gov.