On May 10, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack testified in front of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on agriculture that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will issue disaster relief payments to those farmers who suffered disasters in the 2020 and 2021 seasons. These payments will begin in June under the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program-Plus (WHIP+).
Out of the $10 billion set aside for agricultural disaster assistance, $9.25 billion of that will aid row crop producers, and the rest will support livestock producers. USDA says row crop assistance will be provided using pre-existing insurance data.
Producers have already received a portion of that money, about $560 million in payments to those farmers who took the hardest hits. The rest of the money will be sent to farmers who did not qualify for the first round of assistance payments.
The USDA is ensuring farmers will be at ease when filling out the application by allowing the agency to fill out most of the application. As of now, farmers can look forward to receiving these payments after completing the easy-to-fill application.