Tornadic supercell in the American plains

The USDA will launch Stage 2 of the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP) on November 24. It will provide additional aid to farmers affected by natural disasters in 2023 and 2024.

Stage 2 targets “shallow losses,” including uninsured, non-indemnified and quality losses not covered under Stage 1 or traditional crop insurance. Deputy Agriculture Secretary Steven Vaden said the two SDRP stages together will deliver more than $16 billion in assistance. This offers critical cash flow as farmers prepare for the 2026 season.

This new support supplements $9.3 billion already distributed through the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program and over $1 billion from the Emergency Livestock Relief Program.

USDA officials said Stage 2 fills a major gap in previous disaster programs by compensating producers whose losses did not surpass insurance deductibles. Eligible farmers will also receive crop insurance premium and fee refunds.

Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine and Massachusetts will administer their own disaster programs. This makes producers in these states ineligible for SDRP payments. Applications for both SDRP stages will be accepted through April 30.

The USDA also announced two new dairy-related disaster programs. These include the Milk Loss Program, which offers up to $1.65 million for milk dumped due to disasters, and the On-Farm Stored Commodity Loss Program, which provides up to $5 million for lost stored commodities. Enrollment begins November 24 and runs through January 23.

Read more on Stage 2 of SDRP here.

See the USDA SDRP page here.

Refer to commonly asked questions and answers here.