Skip to main content

Emergency Relief Program (ERP)

What It Is

Designing and Deploying ERP 2022 - State Specific Program Delivery Fact Sheets Now Available!

When designing and deploying a program as complex as ERP, we’ve made every effort to incorporate lessons learned from our previous disaster programs as well as glean important input from producers, commodity groups, members of Congress and other stakeholder groups before opening the program for applications. The end result is a more advantageous, equitable distribution of limited funds to more producers in need of assistance.

Currently, there is a federal court injunction that prohibits USDA from “making or increasing payments, or providing any additional relief, based on its ‘socially disadvantaged farmer or rancher’ designation” under ERP 2022.  This may impact certain payments.

NEWS 

USDA is issuing almost $92 million in payments to livestock producers, nationwide, who faced increased supplemental feed costs as a result of forage losses due to 2022 qualifying drought and wildfire. This additional ELRP payment for 2022 losses builds on more than $465 million in payments made to eligible livestock producers in September 2023 who suffered qualifying losses due to drought or wildfire in 2022. Read the Oct. 30 Federal Notice for more information.

The USDA has announced the deadline for commodity and specialty crop producers to apply for the Emergency Relief Program (ERP) for 2022 natural disaster losses is Aug. 14, 2024. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) began accepting ERP 2022 applications in October 2023. Read more in our July 15 news release.

Background – Emergency Relief for 2022 Losses

On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2023 (P.L. 117-328) that provides about $3.7 billion in financial assistance for agricultural producers impacted by wildfires, droughts, hurricanes, winter storms and other eligible disasters occurring in calendar year 2022. Additionally, the Act specifically targeted up to about $500 million to livestock producers for losses incurred due to drought or wildfire in calendar year 2022. ELRP for 2022 losses has been closed out and ERP 2022 implementation details will be provided soon.

Background – Emergency Relief for 2020 and 2021 Losses

To help agricultural producers offset the impacts of natural disasters in 2020 and 2021, Congress included $10 billion in emergency relief funding in the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act (P.L. 117-43). This law targeted at least $750 million for livestock producers impacted by drought or wildfires. FSA has closed out delivery of emergency relief benefits for 2020 and 2021 losses. 

All payments to eligible producers for the Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP) for 2021 and 2022 losses and the Emergency Relief Program (ERP) for 2020 and 2021 losses were processed by Sept. 30, 2023.  Read this USDA press release for more information.

ERP 2022 Forms and Instructions

FSA-523: ERP 2022 Track 1 Application

FSA-524: ERP 2022 Track 2 Application

FSA-524 A: ERP 2022 Track 2 Tax Year Revenue Worksheet

FSA-524 B: ERP 2022 Track 2 Expected Revenue Worksheet

FSA-525: Crop Insurance and/or NAP Coverage Agreement

Producers who receive ERP payments are required to purchase crop insurance or Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) coverage for the next two available crop years. FSA awarded cooperative agreements to nine organization who can assist producers in completing linkage requirements. Find an organization near you. The ERP dashboard has information on ERP payments that can be sorted by crop type – specialty or non-specialty, specific commodities and state. Updated information will be posted every Monday. Learn more about specialty crops.

ERP 2022 Tool FAQs View ERP2022 Dashboard View ERP'20/'21 Dashboard

About the Program:

STATE FACT SHEETS ERP 2022 - Track 1

Emergency Relief Program (ERP) – 2022 Losses Track 1

ERP 2022 Track 1 will provide assistance to producers who were impacted by wildfires, droughts, hurricanes, winter storms, and other eligible disasters experienced during calendar year 2022 using existing Federal Crop Insurance or Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) data already submitted to FSA.

Who is Eligible?

Eligible crops and trees included in Track 1, include crops and trees for which federal crop insurance or NAP coverage was available and a crop insurance indemnity or NAP payment was received, except for crops intended for grazing. 

Qualifying natural disaster events include: wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, derechos, excessive heat, winter storms, freeze, smoke exposure, excessive moisture, qualifying drought, and related conditions.

For ERP 2022 eligibility, “related conditions” are damaging weather and adverse natural occurrences that occurred concurrently with and as a direct result of a specified qualifying disaster event. They include: 

  • Excessive wind that occurred as a direct result of a derecho; 
  • Silt and debris that occurred as adirect result of flooding; 
  • Excessive wind, storm surges, tropical storms, and tropical depressions that occurred as a direct result of a hurricane; and 
  • Excessive wind and blizzards that occurred as a direct result of a winterstorm.

For “qualifying drought”, ERP 2022 assistance is available if any area within the county in which the loss occurred was rated by the U.S. Drought Monitor as having a drought intensity of: 

  • D2 (severe drought) for eight consecutive weeks; or 
  • D3 (extreme drought) or higher level of drought intensity.

2022 Drought Counties Eligible for ERP 2022
 

How to Apply

FSA will send pre-filled Emergency Relief Program (ERP 2022) applications directly to producers who suffered 2022 crop losses due to wildfires, droughts, hurricanes, winter storms and other eligible natural disaster events. Funding for ERP 2022 is limited and significantly less than estimated losses. To ensure the fair, equitable and efficient delivery of program benefits to help as many disaster-impacted producers as possible, with the limited funds available, FSA has designed program payment factors to ensure payment outlays stay within statutory funding levels.

To participate in ERP for 2022 losses, crop producers should have or be prepared to have the following forms on file with FSA:   

  • Form AD-2047, Customer Data Worksheet (as applicable to the program participant); 
  • Form CCC-902, Farm Operating Plan for an individual or legal entity; 
  • Form CCC-901, Member Information for Legal Entities (if applicable); and  
  • Form AD-1026 Highly Erodible Land Conservation (HELC) and Wetland Conservation (WC) Certification.  

Most producers, especially those who have previously participated in FSA programs, will likely have these required forms on file. However, those who are uncertain or want to confirm should contact FSA at their local USDA Service Center.  

In addition to the forms listed above, underserved producers are encouraged to register their status with FSA, using Form CCC-860, Socially Disadvantaged, Limited Resource, Beginning and Veteran Farmer or Rancher Certification, as certain existing permanent and ad-hoc disaster programs provide increased benefits or reduced fees and premiums.   

Crop producers who have federal crop insurance coverage should ensure that information on file with their insurance agent is accurate and that any pending activities needed to file loss claims for 2022 losses are addressed as soon as possible. 

Payments

RMA and FSA will calculate ERP 2022 Track 1 payments for insured crops based on the data on file with the agencies at the time of calculation. RMA and FSA will calculate each producer’s loss consistent with the loss procedures for the type and level of coverage purchased but using the ERP 2022 program factor in lieu of the coverage level obtained by the producer. This calculated amount would then be adjusted by progressive payment factoring for RMA insured payments, weighted to the crop by the Estimated ERP 2022 Payment (prior to adjustments) to determine if it is specialty and non-specialty.

ERP factors tables can be found on the ERP Fact Sheet.

Payment Limitation and Adjusted Gross Income

The payment limitation for ERP 2022 is determined by the person’s or legal entity’s average adjusted gross farm income (income from activities related to farming, ranching, or forestry).

Specifically, a person or legal entity, other than a joint venture or general partnership, cannot receive, directly or indirectly, more than $125,000 in payments for specialty and high value crops and $125,000 in payment for non-specialty & all other crops under ERP 2022 (for Track 1 and Track 2 combined) for program year 2022, if their average adjusted gross farm income is less than 75 percent of their average AGI the three taxable years preceding the most immediately preceding complete tax year.

If at least 75 percent of the person or legal entity’s average AGI is farm income (income derived from farming, ranching, and forestry related activities) the person or legal entity, other than a joint venture or general partnership, is eligible to receive, directly or indirectly, up to:

  • $900,000 for program year 2022 for specialty crops/high-value; and
  • $250,000 for program year for 2022 for all other crops.

The relevant tax years for establishing a producer’s AGI and percentage of farm income for program year 2022 are: 2018, 2019, and 2020.

To request the increased payment limitation, participants must file form FSA-510 certifying their average adjusted gross farm income is at least 75% of their average AGI, accompanied by a certification from a certified public accountant (CPA) or attorney that the participant meets the requirements. If the participant is an entity and files the FSA-510, the payment limitation for the entity may increase, however if the members of the entity do not file FSA-510s, their payment limitation will remain at $125,000, and the payments for the entity will be reduced accordingly. For more information, contact your local FSA service center.

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.

Emergency Relief Program (ERP) – 2022 Losses Track 2

ERP 2022 Track 2 is a revenue-based certification program designed to assist producers who suffered a loss in revenue resulting from 2022 calendar year disaster events when compared with revenue in a benchmark year.

The revenue-based track provides an alternative method to establish revenue in cases where there has been a change to operation capacity, circumstances where revenue does not reasonably reflect a normal year’s revenue, or for crops that are used within the operation and do not generate revenue from the sale of the crop.

ERP 2022 Track 2 Fact Sheet 

Determining crop value for approved crops that do not have revenue from sales

Determining crop value for crops not sold, using the expected revenue option

Who is Eligible?

Qualifying disaster event means: wildfires, hurricanes, floods, derechos, excessive heat, tornadoes, winter storms, freeze (including a polar vortex), smoke exposure, excessive moisture, qualifying drought, and related conditions occurring in calendar year 2022.

For ERP 2022 eligibility, “related conditions” means damaging weather and adverse natural occurrences that occurred concurrently with and as a direct result of a specified qualifying disaster event.

For “qualifying drought”, ERP 2022 assistance is available if any area within the county in which the loss occurred was rated by the U.S. Drought Monitor as having a drought intensity of:

  • D2 (severe drought) for eight consecutive weeks; or
  • D3 (extreme drought) or higher level of drought intensity.

2022 Drought Counties Eligible for ERP 2022 

How to Apply

Producers applying for Track 2 must submit FSA-524, Emergency Relief Program (ERP) 2022 Track 2 Application, certifying their benchmark year revenue and disaster year revenue.

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.

To participate in ERP for 2022 losses, crop producers should have or be prepared to have the following forms on file with FSA:   

  • Form AD-2047, Customer Data Worksheet (as applicable to the program participant); 
  • Form CCC-902, Farm Operating Plan for an individual or legal entity; 
  • Form CCC-901, Member Information for Legal Entities (if applicable); and  
  • Form AD-1026 Highly Erodible Land Conservation (HELC) and Wetland Conservation (WC) Certification.  

Payments

To determine a producer’s Track 2 payment amount, FSA will calculate:

  1. The producer’s benchmark year revenue, multiplied by the ERP factor of 90 percent if all acres of all eligible crops were covered by Federal crop insurance or NAP, or 70 percent if not all acres of all eligible crops were covered by Federal crop insurance or NAP;
  2. Minus the producer’s disaster year revenue;
  3. Minus the sum of the producer’s gross Track 1 payments.

After performing the calculation described above, progressive factoring will be applied to the calculated amount, which can be found in the ERP 2022 Track 2 fact sheet .

For underserved producers, the sum of the results will be multiplied by a factor of 115 percent, and the underserved producer’s calculated Track 2 payment will be equal to the lesser of the resulting amount or the amount calculated after step 3 above. For all other eligible producers, the sum of the results for each range will be the calculated Track 2 payment.

FSA will multiply that amount by the percentage of the expected disaster year revenue for specialty and high value crops or other crops, as applicable, to determine the amounts that will apply to the payment limitations for specialty and high value crops (combined) and other crops.

FSA will apply a final payment factor of 75 percent to all calculated Track 2 payments, including payments to underserved producers, to ensure payments do not exceed available funding. If a producer receives a Track 1 payment after their Track 2 payment is calculated, the producer’s Track 2 payment will be recalculated, and the producer must refund any resulting overpayment.

To determine allowable gross revenue, see the table on the ERP 2022 Track 2 fact sheet .  

Payment Limitation and Adjusted Gross Income

The payment limitation for ERP 2022 is determined by the person’s or legal entity’s average adjusted gross farm income (income from activities related to farming, ranching, or forestry).

Specifically, a person or legal entity, other than a joint venture or general partnership, cannot receive, directly or indirectly, more than $125,000 in payments for specialty and high value crops and $125,000 in payment for non-specialty & all other crops under ERP 2022 (for Track 1 and Track 2 combined) for program year 2022, if their average adjusted gross farm income is less than 75 percent of their average AGI the three taxable years preceding the most immediately preceding complete tax year.

Independent payment limitations for non-specialty/other crops and specialty/high value crops will remain, however only program year 2022 will be applicable for ERP Track 2.

Since separate payment limitations apply to payments for specialty and high value crops and other crops, for both the Tax Year Option and the Expected Revenue Option, producers must certify to the percentage of their disaster year revenue that they expected to receive from specialty and high value crops and the percentage from other crops.

The percentages must be based on what the producer would have reasonably expected to receive for each category in the disaster year if the qualifying disaster event had not occurred.

If at least 75 percent of the person or legal entity’s average AGI is farm income (income derived from farming, ranching, and forestry related activities) the person or legal entity, other than a joint venture or general partnership, is eligible to receive, directly or indirectly, up to:

  • $900,000 for program year 2022 for specialty crops/high-value; and
  • $250,000 for program year for 2022 for all other crops.

The relevant tax years for establishing a producer’s AGI and percentage of farm income for program year 2022 are: 2018, 2019, and 2020.

To request the increased payment limitation, participants must file form FSA-510 certifying their average adjusted gross farm income is at least 75% of their average AGI, accompanied by a certification from a certified public accountant (CPA) or attorney that the participant meets the requirements. If the participant is an entity and files the FSA-510, the payment limitation for the entity may increase, however if the members of the entity do not file FSA-510s, their payment limitation will remain at $125,000, and the payments for the entity will be reduced accordingly. For more information, contact your local FSA service center.

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.

Emergency Relief Program (ERP) Phase 1

The first phase of ERP assistance provided payments to producers who were impacted by wildfires, droughts, hurricanes, winter storms, and other eligible disasters experienced during calendar years 2020 and 2021 using existing Federal Crop Insurance or Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) data already submitted to FSA.

All payments to eligible producers for the Emergency Relief Program (ERP) for 2020 and 2021 losses were processed by Sept. 30, 2023. In Feb. 2024, USDA issued an additional and final payment eligible commodity and specialty crop producers who incurred losses due to natural disasters in 2020 and 2021.

Recipients of the additional payment were limited to those producers who received ERP Phase One payments from FSA that were calculated based on crop insurance indemnities. Initially, ERP Phase One payments to producers who were indemnified through Federal crop insurance, were subject to a 75% payment factor. FSA has since determined that adequate funding exists to provide an additional 3.5% ERP Phase One payment to producers who had crop insurance increasing the overall payment factor to 78.5%. These additional ERP Phase One payments are subject to FSA payment limitation provisions as outlined in the ERP Phase One fact sheet

Because ERP Phase One payments to producers of noninsured crops covered by FSA NAP policies were originally paid at 100%, there will be no additional payments issued to these producers for 2020 and 2021 losses. 

Fact Sheet

Who is Eligible?

ERP covers losses to crops, trees, bushes and vines due to a qualifying natural disaster event in calendar years 2020 and 2021. Eligible crops include all crops for which federal crop insurance or NAP coverage was available except for crops intended for grazing. Qualifying natural disaster events include wildfires, hurricanes, floods, derechos, excessive heat, winter storms, freeze (including a polar vortex), smoke exposure, excessive moisture, qualifying drought, and related conditions.

For ERP eligibility, “related conditions” are damaging weather and adverse natural occurrences that occurred concurrently with and as a direct result of a specified qualifying disaster event. They include:

  • Excessive wind that occurred as a direct result of a derecho;
  • Silt and debris that occurred as a direct result of flooding;
  • Excessive wind, storm surges, tornados, tropical storms, and tropical depressions that occurred as a direct result of a hurricane; and
  • Excessive wind and blizzards that occurred as a direct result of a winter storm.

For drought, ERP assistance is available if any area within the county in which the loss occurred was rated by the U.S. Drought Monitor as having a D2 (severe drought) for eight consecutive weeks or D3 (extreme drought) or higher level of drought intensity.

2020 drought counties eligible for ERP
2021 drought counties eligible for ERP

How to Apply

For ERP Phase 1, 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 must also have the following forms on file determined by FSA’s Deputy Administrator for Farm Programs:

  • Form AD-2047, Customer Data Worksheet;
  • Form CCC-902, Farm Operating Plan for an individual or legal entity;
  • Form CCC-901, Member Information for Legal Entities (if applicable); and
  • Form AD-1026 Highly Erodible Land Conservation (HELC) and Wetland Conservation (WC) Certification for the ELRP producer and applicable affiliates.

Most producers, especially those who have previously participated in FSA programs will likely have these required forms on file. However, those who are uncertain or want to confirm should contact their local FSA county office.

In addition to the forms listed above, certain producers will also need to submit the following forms to qualify for an increased payment rate or payment limitation.

  • Form CCC-860, Socially Disadvantaged, Limited Resource, Beginning and Veteran Farmer or Rancher Certification, if applicable, for the 2021 program year.
  • Form FSA-510, Request for an Exception to the $125,000 Payment Limitation for Certain Programs (if applicable).

Payments

For crops covered by crop insurance, the ERP Phase 1 payment calculation for a crop and unit will depend on the type and level of coverage obtained by the producer. Each calculation will use the following ERP factor based on the producer’s level of crop insurance or NAP coverage.

  • Crop Insurance – the ERP factor is 75% to 95% depending on the level of coverage ranging from catastrophic to at least 80% coverage.
  • NAP – the ERP factor is 75% to 95% depending on the level of coverage ranging from catastrophic to 65% coverage. FSA will perform a conventional NAP payment calculation with an adjusted guarantee equal to the ERP Factor.

ERP factors tables can be found on the ERP Fact Sheet.

FSA will mail application forms for policy holders with 2021 crop year coverage under Stacked Income Protection (STAX), Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO), Enhanced Coverage Option (ECO), Margin Protection (MP), and Area Risk Protection Insurance (ARPI) when data becomes available.

Payment Limitation and Adjusted Gross Income

The payment limitation for ERP Phase 1 is determined by the person’s or legal entity’s average adjusted gross farm income (income from activities related to farming, ranching, or forestry).

Specifically, a person or legal entity, other than a joint venture or general partnership, cannot receive, directly or indirectly, more than $125,000 in payments for specialty and high value crops and $125,000 in payment for all other crops under ERP (for Phase 1 and Phase 2 combined) for a program year if their average adjusted gross (AGI) farm income is less than 75 percent of their average AGI the three taxable years preceding the most immediately preceding complete tax year.

If at least 75 percent of the person or legal entity’s average AGI is derived from farming, ranching, or forestry related activities and the participant provides the required certification and documentation, as discussed below, the person or legal entity, other than a joint venture or general partnership, is eligible to receive, directly or indirectly, up to:

  • $900,000 for each program year for specialty crops; and
  • $250,000 for each program year for all other crops.

The relevant tax years for establishing a producer’s AGI and percentage derived from farming, ranching, or forestry related activities are:

  • 2016, 2017, and 2018 for program year 2020;
  • 2017, 2018, and 2019 for program year 2021; and
  • 2018, 2019, and 2020 for program year 2022.

To request the increased payment limitation, participants must file form FSA-510 complete with participant’s certification their average adjusted gross farm income is at least 75 percent of their average AGI and a certification from a Licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or Attorney that the participant meets the requirements. To learn more, visit the Payment Eligibility and Payment Limitations fact sheet.

Requirement to Purchase Crop Insurance or NAP Coverage

All producers who receive ERP Phase 1 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 60/100 level of coverage or higher for insured crops, or at the catastrophic coverage level or higher for NAP crops.

Emergency Relief Program (ERP) Phase 2

ERP Phase 2 is a tax year based certification program that provides assistance for producers who suffered a loss in revenue due to necessary expenses associated with losses of eligible crops (excluding crops intended for grazing), due in whole or in part, to a qualifying disaster event that occurred in the 2020 or 2021 calendar year.

Emergency Relief Program Phase 2  Fact Sheet

Emergency Relief Program Phase 2 Mythbusters

ERP Phase Two Application Video Tutorial

View Factsheet for DAFP approved eligible crops.

Requirement to Purchase Crop Insurance or NAP Coverage All producers who receive ERP Phase 2 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 60/100 level of coverage or higher for insured crops, or at the catastrophic coverage level or higher for NAP crops.

Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP) – 2022 Losses

ELRP 2022 provided assistance to livestock producers for losses incurred due to drought or wildfire in calendar year 2022.

For impacted ranchers, USDA leveraged FSA’s Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) data to deliver ELRP assistance for increases in supplemental feed costs in 2022.

ELRP Factsheet
 

Emergency Livestock Relief Program (ELRP) – Phase 1 & 2

ELRP assistance provided payments to producers who faced increased supplemental feed costs as a result of forage losses due to a qualifying drought or wildfire in calendar year 2021 using data already submitted to FSA though the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP).

Through the distribution of remaining funds, USDA concluded the 2021 ELRP program by sending payments in the amount of 20% of the initial ELRP payment to all existing recipients.

Fact Sheet

On-Farm Stored Commodities

Assistance for on-farm stored commodities is provided through ERP Phase Two for 2020 and 2021 losses.

Milk Loss Program (MLP)

The Milk Loss Program allows eligible dairy operations to receive payments for milk that was dumped or removed without compensation from the commercial milk market due to qualifying weather events that inhibited the delivery of milk or the storage of milk due to disaster events for the 2020, 2021 and 2022 calendar years. 

The deadline to apply for MLP is Oct. 30, 2023.

Milk Loss Program Fact Sheet

Eligibility

MLP compensates dairy operations for milk that was dumped or removed, without compensation, from the commercial milk market due to qualifying weather events and the consequences of those weather events that inhibited delivery or storage of milk (e.g., power outages, impassable roads, infrastructure losses, etc.) during calendar years 2020, 2021 and 2022.  

Qualifying disaster events include droughts, wildfires, hurricanes, floods, derechos, excessive heat, winter storms, freeze (including a polar vortex) and smoke exposure that occurred in the 2020, 2021 and 2022 calendar years. Tornadoes are considered a qualifying disaster event for calendar year 2022 only.   

The milk loss claim period is each calendar month that milk was dumped or removed from the commercial market. Each MLP application covers the loss in a single calendar month. Milk loss that occurs in more than one calendar month due to the same qualifying weather event requires a separate application for each month.

The days that are eligible for assistance begin on the date the milk was removed or dumped and for concurrent days milk was removed or dumped. Once the dairy operation restarts milk marketing, the dairy operation is ineligible for assistance unless after restarting commercial milk marketing, additional milk is dumped due to the same qualifying disaster event. The duration of yearly claims is limited to 30 days per year for 2020, 2021 and 2022.

How to Apply

To apply for MLP, producers must submit all of the following:

  • FSA-376, Milk Loss Program Application
  • Milk marketing statement from the:
    • Month prior to the month milk was removed or dumped.
    • Affected month.
  • Detailed written statement of milk removal circumstances, including the weather event type and geographic scope, what transportation limitations occurred and any information on what was done with the removed milk.

If not previously filed with FSA, applicants must also submit all the following items within 60 days of the MLP application deadline:

  • Form AD-2047, Customtter Data Worksheet.
  • Form CCC-902, Farm Operating Plan for an individual or legal entity.
  • Form CCC-901, Member Information for Legal Entities (if applicable).
  • Form FSA-510, Request for an Exception to the $125,000 Payment Limitation for Certain Programs (if applicable).
  • Form CCC-860, Socially Disadvantaged, Limited Resource, Beginning and Veteran Farmer or Rancher Certification, applicable for the program year or years for which the producer is applying for the Milk Loss Program.
  • A highly erodible land conservation (sometimes referred to as HELC) and wetland conservation certification (Form AD-1026 Highly Erodible Land Conservation (HELC) and Wetland Conservation (WC) Certification) for the MLP producer and applicable affiliates.

Payments

The final MLP payment is determined by factoring the MLP payment calculation by the applicable MLP payment percentage. The calculation for determining MLP payment is:

  • (Base period per cow average daily milk production x the number of milking cows in a claim period x the number of days milk was dumped in a claim period) ÷ 100 x pay price per hundredweight (cwt.).

For MLP payment calculations, the milk loss base period is the first full month of production before the dumping or removal occurred.

The MLP payment percentage will be 90% for underserved producers, including beginning, limited resource, and veteran farmers and ranchers and 75% for all other producers.   

To qualify for the higher payment percentage, eligible producers must have a CCC-860, Socially Disadvantaged, Limited Resource, Beginning and Veteran Farmer or Rancher Certification, form on file with FSA for the applicable program year.  

Payment Limitation and Adjusted Gross Income

Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) limitations do not apply to MLP, however the payment limitation for MLP is determined by the person’s or legal entity’s average adjusted gross farm income (income derived from farming, ranching and forestry operations). Specifically, a person or legal entity, other than a joint venture or general partnership, cannot receive, directly or indirectly, more than $125,000 in payments under MLP if their average adjusted gross farm income is less than 75% of their average AGI or more than $250,000 if their adjusted gross farm income is at least 75% of their average AGI.

The relevant tax years for establishing a producer’s AGI are:

  • 2016, 2017, and 2018 for program year 2020
  • 2017, 2018, and 2019 for program year 2021
  • 2018, 2019, and 2020 for program year 2022

To request the increased payment limitation, participants must file form FSA-510 complete with participant’s certification their average adjusted gross farm income is at least 75 percent of their average AGI and a certification from a Licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) or Attorney that the participant meets the requirements.

Attribution of payments apply to MLP and payments to a legal entity are tracked through four levels of ownership, attributed, and limited to persons or legal entities that hold an ownership interest in the legal entity. For more information, see the Direct Attribution information on the Payment Limitations web page.

Historically Underserved

The ELRP payment percentage will be 90% for historically underserved producers, and 75% for all other producers.

The ERP payment percentage for historically underserved producers, including beginning, limited resource, and veteran farmers and ranchers will be increased by 15% of the calculated payment for crops having insurance coverage or NAP.

To qualify for the ELRP or ERP higher payment percentage, eligible producers must have a CCC 860, Socially Disadvantaged, Limited Resource, Beginning and Veteran Farmer or Rancher Certification, form on file with FSA for the 2021 program year.

News

Notice of Funding Availability