en.Wedoany.com Reported - The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has extended the application deadline for the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program to September 30, providing farmers who suffered crop losses in 2023 and 2024 with additional time to apply, while also relaxing requirements related to quality loss documentation.

The program provides more than $16 billion in assistance for income, production, and quality losses related to crops, trees, shrubs, and vines, and is implemented in two phases. The first phase covers losses that can be compensated using data from crop insurance or the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program; the second phase targets uninsured and quality losses.

Under the new rules, producers may use third-party records to substantiate quality discounts, with such records covering grading factors, nutritional testing, prices received, and affected production. Records generally must be dated within 30 days after harvest, and county committees may also consider late-submitted records at their discretion.

The Farm Service Agency has also expanded flexibility in cases where the final use of a crop differs from its intended use, including situations involving the resale of fresh crops for processing or production with residual value. Applicants are required to submit production and price records.

Farmers holding quality loss applications under the first phase but lacking production data should still submit their applications by September 30. The agency stated that once the missing data becomes available, it will contact affected producers to review and re-sign their applications.