With a June 2, 2023, deadline to apply for both the Emergency Relief Program (ERP) Phase Two and the Pandemic Assistance Revenue Program (PARP), Farm Service Agency Administrator Zach Ducheneaux is clearing up confusion about how to apply, what documents are required for participation, insurance requirements and related misinformation making its way across the countryside.
If you have more questions, reach out to your local FSA office or click here to view a PDF flyer with more information.
Myth #1 – You need to submit a completed tax return to FSA to apply for ERP Phase Two or PARP.
While these programs are based on revenue losses, you DO NOT need a tax return to apply for assistance. In fact, FSA has an ERP Phase 2 tool and PARP tool that walks you through the process step by step. The only reason you might have to provide your tax returns to FSA is in the event of a spot check or a request from the FSA County Committee.
Myth #2 – You cannot receive an ERP Phase Two payment if you received a payment under Phase One.
It’s possible that you can still receive ERP Phase Two benefits if you received an ERP Phase One payment. There is also a possibility that your Phase Two payment may be offset.
Myth #3 – ERP Phase Two was intended to be an additional payment to those who received payment under Phase One.
ERP Phase Two was never designed or intended to be an additional payment. Instead, it was intended to assist those producers who did not receive relief in Phase One.
Myth #4 – The required insurance coverage for two years will cost more than your projected payments.
While this is a possibility depending on your projected payment amount, you won’t know for sure until you inquire about one or both programs and determine which program might best address your losses. At the end of the day, you may decide to walk away, but on the other hand, if you don’t visit with FSA staff about all your options, you could be leaving money on the table.
For underserved producers, FSA recently made a change to the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) that allows a producer’s certification on Form CCC-860 Socially Disadvantaged, Limited Resource, Beginning and Veteran Farmer or Rancher Certification to serve as an application for basic NAP coverage for all eligible crops beginning with crop year 2022. These producers will have all NAP-related service fees for basic coverage waived, in addition to a 50% premium reduction for higher levels of coverage.
Crops that are not eligible for crop insurance or NAP are still eligible for ERP Phase Two, but producers must obtain Whole Farm Revenue Protection to meet linkage requirements.
Myth #5 – The application process is complicated.
Simply because something is different does not mean it’s difficult. FSA worked extremely hard to reduce producer burden by streamlining their application process to allow producers to self-certify their losses. To reassure you that the process is simple, straightforward and transparent, maybe it’s best if you hear directly from your peers. View video testimonials directly from producers on the application process here: https://youtu.be/I1Cyfbzosvc.
In Conclusion…
In addition to assistance from FSA staff, they are working with partner organizations who can further support and assist with program applications. As these partners are fully onboarded, they will be added to fsa.usda.gov/programs-and-services/cooperative-agreements/index.
Program Eligibility: The Emergency Relief Program (ERP) Phase Two applies to producers who experienced revenue losses from eligible natural disasters in 2020 and 2021.
The Pandemic Assistance Revenue Program (PARP) applies to producers who experienced revenue losses in calendar year 2020 due to price loss or lack of market access, rather than overall revenue losses.
Producers interested in ERP Phase Two and PARP, should reach out to their local USDA Service Center to inquire and request assistance. You can also call the FSA call center at 877-508-8364.
Additional resources and fact sheets can be found here – https://www.farmers.gov/blog/myth-busting-fsas-new-revenue-based-disaster-and-pandemic-assistance-programs.