USDA just doubled its farm disaster payment rate to 70%
Summary
USDA's Farm Service Agency had already paid $6.7 billion to farmers under its Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP), covering 2023-2024 losses from wildfires, hurricanes, floods, and drought -- but only at a 35% payment factor, meaning eligible producers had received just over a third of their calculated payment. On April 24, 2026, USDA doubled that factor to 70%, meaning every producer already approved gets a second payment equal to another 35% of their calculated total. USDA also extended the program's application deadline from April 30 to August 12, 2026. SDRP is the largest of three disaster programs that together paid out $17.9 billion over the past year, part of $39.1 billion USDA reports in total economic support to farmers since 2025.
What a "payment factor" actually controls
SDRP compensates farmers for crop, tree, bush, and vine losses tied to natural disasters in 2023 and 2024⧉ -- wildfires, hurricanes, floods, derechos, tornadoes, winter storms, and qualifying drought (counties rated D2 severe drought for eight straight weeks, or D3 extreme drought, during the loss year). calculates a full payment amount for each approved application, then disburses only a percentage of it -- the "payment factor" -- to manage the program's total outlay. Every producer's initial payment was 35% of their calculated amount. 's April announcement raises that to 70% going forward, and pays already-approved producers the difference.
The doubling, in dollars
has not stated a new aggregate total, but the math it describes is straightforward for the producers already paid: since they get "an additional 35% of their calculated SDRP payment"⧉ -- the same share as their first payment -- their second round should be roughly the same size as their first: another $6.7 billion on top of what's already gone out to that specific population, an estimate of this piece's own, not a total has announced. That figure only covers producers already approved before April 24; says new approvals before the August 12 deadline will be paid at the full 70% factor from the start, which would add still more on top.
View data as table
| Initial payments (2025-early 2026) | 35% |
|---|---|
| New factor, announced Apr. 24, 2026 | 70% |
SDRP is the biggest piece of a bigger picture
SDRP is the largest of three disaster-assistance programs⧉ Congress mandated in the American Relief Act, 2025, which together paid out more than $17.9 billion over the past year: the $6.7 billion (pre-increase) in SDRP payments, $9.3 billion through the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program, and nearly $1.9 billion through the Emergency Livestock Relief Program. reports $39.1 billion in total economic support to farmers since 2025 when disaster assistance is combined with the Farmers Bridge Assistance program (over $10 billion) and permanent-program spending on commodity price support, safety net assistance, and conservation.
View data as table
| Emergency Livestock Relief Program | 1.9 |
|---|---|
| Supplemental Disaster Relief Program | 6.7 |
| Emergency Commodity Assistance Program | 9.3 |
The takeaway
- The payment factor exactly doubled. From 35% to 70% -- every producer already approved for SDRP gets a second payment matching their first.
- The likely dollar impact is roughly another $6.7 billion. hasn't announced a new total, but its own description of the increase implies the second round should roughly match the $6.7 billion already paid.
- SDRP sits inside a much larger disaster-relief picture. $17.9 billion across three congressionally-mandated programs in the past year, and $39.1 billion in total economic support to farmers since 2025.
All findings are from 's Farm Service Agency news release, " Issues Second Supplemental Disaster Payment to Farmers, Extends Program Application Deadline to August 12," announced by Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins in Higginsville, MO, and published April 24, 2026 -- read directly from 's own release page (fetched via curl with a standard browser User-Agent), not a secondary summary. The estimated $6.7 billion additional-payment figure, scoped only to producers already approved before April 24, 2026, is this piece's own computation from 's stated proportional description of the increase, not a total itself has announced -- flagged as such throughout. It excludes new applications approved before the August 12 deadline, which says will be paid at the full 70% factor from the start.
Sources(1) ▾
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency, USDA Issues Second Supplemental Disaster Payment to Farmers, Extends Program Application Deadline to August 12 (2026-04-24) — Official Farm Service Agency news release, announced by Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins in Higginsville, MO, published April 24, 2026. Read directly from 's own release page (fetched via curl with a standard browser User-Agent), not a secondary summary -- the exact payment-factor mechanics and the breakdown of the $39.1 billion total economic-support figure are only in the full release. fsa.usda.gov · original document
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's Farm Service Agency announced on April 24, 2026⧉ that it is doubling the payment factor on its Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP), from 35% to 70%. The agency had already paid $6.7 billion in SDRP payments to producers with approved 2023-2024 disaster-loss applications -- all of it calculated at the original 35% factor. Every one of those producers is now due a second payment equal to another 35% of their calculated total.