The sign-up period is now underway for farmers interested in participating in the USDA Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP).
Participation in Stage 2 of the SDRP is now open to those farmers who experienced crop, tree, bush, or vine losses in 2023 and 2024 due to qualifying natural disasters that were not covered under Stage 1. This includes non-indemnified, uncovered, or quality losses from events like wildfires, floods, excessive heat, and drought, USDA says.
The agency adds that the sign up for Stage 1 participation is still ag for those farmers with indemnified losses.
Both stages have a deadline of April 30, 2026, to apply.
USDA has allocated a total of $16 billion for SDRP. To date, the agency says over $5.7 billion has been distributed to more than 381,000 farmers under Stage 1 of the program, leaving $10.3 billion of aid still available to qualifying producers.
What If You’re On The Fence About Applying?
One group of farmers who might not believe they qualify for Stage 2 of the program are those who had crop insurance the past two years but didn’t collect a payment – either because their coverage level was too low or they didn’t have quite enough yield loss, reports Paul Neiffer, The Farm CPA.
“There are a lot of farmers out there who could qualify and collect under Stage 2,” Neiffer says. “It’s probably more farmers than we might have thought initially.”
Neiffer has developed a calculator that farmers can use to estimate their potential payment. The subscription-based product is available at farmCPAreport.com.
USDA offers more information specific to Stage 2 at this link .
Update On 2025 ARC-PLC Payments
Under the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” enacted in July 2025, the legislation allows qualifying farmers to automatically receive the higher of ARC or PLC payments for each covered commodity, regardless of their initial program election. This change is projected to add an additional $3.2 billion to the estimated $13.5 billion in ARC and PLC payments for 2025.
“Based on current projections, farmers can expect between $12 and $13 billion in payments next October,” Neiffer says.
Some farmers have contacted Flory, asking whether Congress could potentially change the rules on the 2025 ARC-PLC payments, if a ‘skinny’ farm bill is passed. Neiffer says that won’t happen.
“The rules are permanently in the law right now,” he explains. “The last thing I think Congress wants to do is make any changes as far as farm bill provisions. Remember, they already kicked the 2018 farm bill down the road to September 30, 2026. That means any changes likely to come are not going to happen until sometime next year anyway, so I can’t see any way they’re going to make any changes to the 2025 ARC-PLC.”
IRS Issues Guidance On Interest Deduction
The internal revenue service (IRS) has released guidance on new bank loan interest deductions. Any bank (excluding Farm Credit banks) or life insurance company that makes loans to farmers could potentially get a 25% net deduction on their interest income.
“But then they also have to reduce their interest expense that they incur to fund that loan by 25%. So, the net benefit to the farmer, potentially is an extra 10 to 15 basis points reduction in their loan rate. So, if they’re at 8% they might get a loan at 7.85% or 7.9%,” Neiffer says.
While the benefit is small, it still is a potential money saver. “That’s not a big deal, but it certainly doesn’t hurt to ask the bank in that situation,
‘Hey, give me an extra 10 or 15 basis points, because I know you have a tax deduction here,’” Flory says.
Catch more of the Neiffer-Flory conversation on AgriTalk here:
