Paul Neiffer, host of the Top Producer Podcast, discusses the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP) and its “double-up” payment rules.
“I call it the double up. Typically, we call it a top up but, but they essentially doubled it up,” he says. “Our first initial payment was 35% and then this double up is on top of it, another 35% and for many of you, it’s going to be exactly what you got into the first one.”
Neiffer mentions that $11.7 billion has been paid out so far, with $12.5 billion expected in total between Stage 1 and Stage 2. With the program deadline being extended to August 12, 2026, Stage 2 farmers will continue to receive funds as USDA updates its database.
USDA allocated $16.09 billion to the program. If total payments reach $12.5 billion, approximately $3.5 billion remains for:
- Payments for applications submitted by the August 12, 2024, deadline, including Stage 1 and Stage 2 quality losses.
- A potential final “top-up” for producers.
“The reason [the total payout is less than the allocation] is a lot of farmers are going to hit the payment limits,” Neiffer says. Payment limits are $125,000 per year for regular crops and $125,000 for specialty crops. However, if more than 75% of your adjusted gross income (AGI) is farm income, those limits increase. “Before any of the 75% [test], that means you qualify automatically for $250,000 combined between ’23 and ’24 [for regular crops],” Neiffer explains.
Equipment gains and custom farming income remain “the rub” for qualification. Neiffer notes that currently, equipment gains may disqualify some from the 75% farm income test. While the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” will make equipment gains automatically count as farm income starting in the 2026 crop year, that change does not apply to SDRP for ’23 and ’24.
Neiffer estimates a potential final top-up distribution of 5-10% could occur once all initial payments are settled. “Congress only authorized paying out up to 90%, so the most you can get is 20% [more]... I think the reality is we’re maybe looking at 7, 8, 9, somewhere between five and 10%.”
