INDIANAPOLIS — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently announced that agricultural producers nationwide have already received more than $4 billion through the Emergency Relief Program (ERP), representing nearly 67% of the more than $6 billion projected to be paid through this phase of the program.
Eligible producers in Indiana are receiving $33.5 million in funding. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) mailed out pre-filled applications in late May to producers with crop insurance who suffered losses due to natural disasters in 2020 and 2021. Commodity and specialty crop producers have until July 22 to complete applications.
USDA is implementing ERP in two phases. The first uses existing claims to provide relief expediently, and the second focuses on ensuring producers not covered by other programs receive assistance. For phase one, USDA used crop insurance and Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program claim data.