USDA is rolling out additional emergency relief and pandemic assistance for producers.
The department will be providing aid through the Emergency Relief Program (ERP) Phase Two, along with the new Pandemic Assistance Revenue Program (PARP).
“These new programs apply a holistic approach to emergency assistance—an approach not focused on any one disaster event or commodity but rather one focused on filling gaps in assistance for agricultural producers who have, over the past few years, suffered losses from natural disasters and the pandemic,” said USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack in a statement.
ERP Phase Two will assist producers who suffered eligible crop losses due to wildfires, hurricanes, floods, derechos, excessive heat, winter storms, freezes (including a polar vortex), smoke exposure, excessive moisture and qualifying droughts in 2020 and 2021. PARP will aid commodity producers who experienced revenue decreases in 2020 compared to 2018 or 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
