WASHINGTON, D.C. (RFD-TV) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has opened sign-ups for Stage 2 of the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program, giving farmers a new pathway to recover shallow losses from extreme weather in 2023 and 2024. The program—open through April 30, 2026—covers revenue, quality, or production losses that were not indemnified under crop insurance. It expands the assistance begun under Stage 1 earlier this year.
Under Stage 2, USDA will use existing crop insurance and Farm Service Agency data to pre-fill applications, with producers verifying totals and submitting forms at county offices. Stage 2 also includes payments for quality loss, applying the same quality-loss percentages used in Stage 1 for forage nutrition reductions or value declines at sale. Qualifying disasters include drought, excessive moisture, hurricanes, freeze, derechos, wildfire, and other major weather events.
Check Out Farm CPA Paul Neiffer Calculator for Stage 2
Producers will receive payments calculated from the difference between expected and actual value, crop insurance coverage, premiums, and an SDRP factor tied to their base policy. Payments are currently subject to a 35 percent factor, though USDA expects this rate to rise after total claims become clearer. Payment limits apply, with higher caps available to producers who derive at least 75% of their income from farming.
Looking ahead, USDA emphasizes that recipients must purchase crop insurance or NAP coverage at 60 percent or higher for the next two crop years.
Water access—not acreage alone—is driving where irrigation expands or contracts.
December 07, 2025 12:00 PM
·
Reed Marcum started hosting a toy drive in 2015. Since then, he has distributed thousands of toys across his home state of Oklahoma and in Texas and Arkansas. Now serving in the Army, Reed’s family and local 4-H chapter are running the event.
December 05, 2025 04:20 PM
·
RFD-TV Farm Legal and Tax Expert Roger McEowen explains the basics of Low-Risk Credit in Farming, and how an understanding of the farm credit landscape lets producers tactfully approach debt.
December 05, 2025 02:40 PM
·
Mike Steenhoek, with the Soy Transportation Commission, shares his outlook on current grain stocks and transportation lines amid bumper crops filling bins across the United States.
December 05, 2025 02:18 PM
·
“The Expanding Access to Risk Protection (EARP) Final Rule streamlines requirements across multiple crops, responds to producer feedback, and strengthens USDA’s commitment to putting America’s farmers first,” said the USDA.
December 05, 2025 10:49 AM
Low-risk credit farming is not a technique; it is a culture of financial discipline. It requires the same level of expertise in the farm office as it does in the field.
December 05, 2025 07:00 AM
·
Working capital is tightening for crop farms, increasing reliance on operating loans even as land values steady in the broader sector.
December 04, 2025 02:59 PM
·
Farm CPA Paul Neiffer has developed a detailed calculator to help producers navigate the program’s requirements. He joined us on Thursday’s Market Day Report to explain how it works.
December 04, 2025 01:20 PM
·
Dr. Sally DeNotta with the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) provides horse owners with guidance on the recent outbreak of Equine Herpes Virus (EHV).
December 04, 2025 12:22 PM
·
