On Sept. 30, 2021, President Biden signed into law the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act to cover losses from flooding, excessive rainfall and other eligible disaster events. The Emergency Relief Program (ERP), as it called, will be in two phases.
Phase 1 will use existing Federal Crop Insurance or Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) data as the basis for calculating initial payments. Only producers who received 2020 or 2021 crop insurance payments from losses will qualify.
Phase 2 will cover producers with eligible losses that did not receive any crop insurance benefits for those losses. Phase 2 details are expected later this summer.
To simplify the delivery of ERP Phase 1 benefits, FSA will send pre-filled application forms to producers whose crop insurance and NAP data is already on file because they received a crop insurance indemnity or NAP payment. This form includes eligibility requirements, outlines the application process and provides ERP payment information. Producers will receive a separate application form for each program year. Receipt of a pre-filled application is not confirmation that a producer is eligible to receive an ERP Phase 1 payment. Producers will need to return completed and signed ERP Phase 1 applications to their local FSA county office.
ERP Phase 1 payments for crops covered by crop insurance will be prorated by 75% to ensure that total ERP payments, including payments under ERP Phase 2, do not exceed the available funding.
RMA and FSA will calculate ERP Phase 1 payments based on the data on file with the agencies at the time of calculation. The ERP Phase 1 payment calculation for a crop and unit will depend on the type and level of crop insurance coverage obtained by the producer. RMA and FSA will calculate each producer’s loss consistent with the loss procedures for the type of coverage purchased. This calculated amount will then be adjusted by subtracting out the net crop insurance indemnity received for that loss.
Because the amount of loss due to a qualifying disaster event in calendar years 2020 and 2021 cannot be separated from the amount of loss caused by other eligible causes of loss as defined by the applicable crop insurance or NAP policy, the ERP Phase 1 payment will be calculated based on the producer’s loss due to all eligible causes of loss.
All producers who receive ERP Phase 1 payments are statutorily required to purchase crop insurance, or NAP coverage where crop insurance is not available, for the next two available crop years, at the 60/100 level.
