USDA started to issue 2022 ERP Track 1 payments last week using their progressive payment plan. This plan substantially reduces the amount of reimbursement for farmers with large losses. Instead, USDA believes that small farmers with small losses should be made whole and larger farmers can afford to cover the losses.
At least, that is how it appears to us. This leads us to believe based on statements from USDA that Congress should fix this by providing more funds. Those funds would then be used to provide payments to farmers with larger losses.
Also, the extra funds could then probably provide funds to reimburse non-underserved farmers (white males) their crop insurance premiums and fees.
Since USDA plans on spending all of the currently allocated funds using their progressive payment plan and underserved farmer bonuses while penalizing other farmers, it would require Congress to provide those extra funds.
The ability for Congress to provide any extra funds in today’s environment is somewhere between slim and none (and we lean towards none).
We will keep you posted but don’t get your hopes up.
