USDA extends disaster relief application deadline to September 30

USDA is extending the deadline for farmers to apply for Stages 1 and 2 of the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP) to Sept. 30, 2026. Additionally, USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) is providing greater flexibility for farmers who experienced quality losses on eligible crops. 

Now, when applying for this key program, farmers who experienced quality-related discounts can use verifiable and reliable documentation to show quality losses due to natural disasters occurring 2023 and 2024. Farmers also now have the flexibility to use a quality loss percentage for crops having a final use that is different from their intended use. 

SDRP provides more than $16 billion in disaster relief payments to producers who suffered revenue, quality or production losses to crops, trees, bushes, or vines due to qualifying disaster events in calendar years 2023 and 2024. These payments are authorized under the 2025 American Relief Act. 

Producers with indemnified losses can apply through SDRP Stage 1, which leverages Federal Crop Insurance or Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) data as the basis for calculating payments. Producers with non-indemnified (including shallow losses), uncovered (uninsured), and quality losses can apply for Stage 2 assistance. Eligible producers can receive SDRP payments for both Stages 1 and 2, if applicable, and for one or both calendar years 2023 and 2024, depending on losses.

Required documentation for SDRP quality losses

FSA is now allowing producers to use verifiable and reliable documentation to demonstrate quality-related discounts on production impacted by natural disasters. 

For quality losses, producers are required to provide third-party verifiable documentation of the grading factors or nutrient tests and acceptable production records that illustrate eligible affected production. Verifiable documentation must be dated within 30 days of harvest. FSA county committees can consider grading factors or nutrient tests taken more than 30 days after harvest if the test or grading factor represents crop condition at the time of harvest. 

Verifiable third-party documentation for one producer can be considered verifiable for all producers with similar documentation, providing flexibility for vertically integrated operations that serve as the buying point for multiple operations, including their own. 

For producers with documentation that includes expected price, actual price received due to quality discounts, and quantity of affected production, FSA county committees have the flexibility to use knowledge of the disaster event and impact on other producers to determine documentation is reliable.

Flexibility for quality-related discounts

To address quality-related economic impacts for SDRP Stage 1 and Stage 2 insured and NAP crops that were intended for fresh but sold as processed or could not be sold in a recognized market, FSA updated policy for crops with a final use different from the intended use (secondary use) and for crops not sold in a recognized market (salvage value). In these cases, producers will be required to provide acceptable production records documenting the actual production and price received.

Stage 1 quality loss applications with missing production data 

For SDRP Stage 1 quality losses, some applications were not generated because the pre-quality adjusted production information used to calculate the Quality Loss Percentage was unavailable. Although this production information will not be available before the SDRP application deadline of Sept. 30, 2026, producers are still required to file an application by the deadline.

Once FSA receives missing production data, impacted producers will be notified and provided with adequate time to review and re-sign SDRP applications. 

Online quality loss calculator 

For assistance determining quality loss percent, producers can use the quality loss calculators on the SDRP webpage. 

More information

For more information on SDRP, visit fsa.usda.gov/sdrp. Producers can request an application or make an appointment online with their FSA county office.