IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:

• ECAP - deadline to submit for subsequent acres - September 30, 2025.
• SDRP - Supplemental Disaster Relief Program – Stage 1 - applications mailed to producers with crop insurance losses in 2023 and/or 2024.
• NAP DEADLINE - September 1^st - Triticale sales closing date

ECAP – Emergency Commodity Assistance Program

ECAP has been expanded to include subsequent acres of eligible commodities reported as of August 15, 2025, for program year 2024.

Due to this change, eligible producers have been notified as having additional acres eligible for an ECAP payment. Notification was either by an email from Gov Delivery service or a postcard.

It will be the responsibility of the producer to contact FSA to revise the currently filed FSA-63 ECAP application or complete an FSA-63 ECAP application to include these additional acres. Again, the deadline to apply is September 30, 2025.

Eligible subsequent commodities in Cheyenne and Kiowa counties would be grain sorghum and corn. All millet and feed crops are not eligible commodities for ECAP.

SDRP - Supplemental Disaster Relief Program – Stage 1

Both Cheyenne and Kiowa offices have begun issuing SDRP payments. This is not an easy program to administer, as there is a lengthy checklist that must be reviewed by 2 employees before approval. Currently, applications that have PRF and/or Annual Forage units are on hold, partial approvals are being made on those applications if there are multiple crop losses.  Your patience is appreciated.

Supplemental Disaster Relief Program: Drought and Hail Eligibility

The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) opened enrollment on July 10 for the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP), which provides assistance for eligible crop losses due to natural disasters in 2023 and 2024.

Eligible U.S. Drought Monitor Losses

To qualify for drought related losses, the loss must have occurred in a county rated by the U.S. Drought Monitor as having a D2 (severe drought) for eight consecutive weeks, D3 (extreme drought), or greater intensity level during the applicable calendar year. View the list of counties eligible for SDRP due to qualifying drought for 2023 and 2024.

Other Eligible Disaster Events and Related Conditions

Producers who received an indemnity in 2023 or 2024 but did not qualify based on the U.S. Drought monitor may still be eligible for assistance. If your county did not trigger based on the U.S. Drought Monitor, do not certify “drought” as the cause of loss on your application as it will not be approved. Instead, producers should review all qualifying disaster events and related conditions such as excessive heat or excessive wind and select all applicable causes of loss.

Below is a list of all qualifying disaster events with the eligible related conditions in parentheses:

• Wildfires
• Hurricanes (including related excessive wind, storm surges, tornadoes, tropical storms, and tropical depression)
• Floods (including related silt and debris)
• Derechos (including related excessive wind)
• Excessive heat
• Tornadoes
• Winter storms (including related blizzard and excessive wind)
• Freeze (including a polar vortex)
• Smoke exposure
• Excessive moisture
• Qualifying drought

Related conditions must have occurred as a direct result of the indicated disaster event.

Losses due to Hail

Hail is not a qualifying disaster event, but you may be eligible if it was directly related to a qualifying disaster event.

For example, if a producer’s crop suffered damage from hail, but the hail damage was directly related to a tornado, then this would qualify for an SDRP payment since tornado is a qualifying disaster event.

Documentation for Spot Checks

Producers who certify that a qualifying disaster event caused the loss should be prepared to provide documentation to support their self-certification if they are selected for a spot check. Documentation is not required to be submitted with your application. Additionally, producers are not required to verify the cause of loss with their crop insurance agent.

Producers should complete the pre-filled application that was mailed on July 9. If you received a crop insurance indemnity in 2023 or 2024 and did not receive an application, please visit your local FSA office and they can print your pre-filled application. 

For additional help with your application, please review the FSA-526 Instructions for Stage 1. Learn more about SDRP, eligibility and future insurance requirements by visiting fsa.usda.gov/sdrp.