Nevada Producers May be Eligible for Second Stage of USDA Disaster Assistance Program

Deputy Secretary Stephn Vaden and Undersecretary Richard Fordyce, with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, announced Tuesday that the agency will begin distributing the second stage of a major disaster-assistance package for farmers and ranchers recovering from natural disaster losses in 2023 and 2024. The announcement comes as the department continues its broader effort to support American agriculture through new international trade opportunities and domestic recovery programs.

According to USDA, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) will deliver more than $16 billion in Congressionally approved Supplemental Disaster Relief Program assistance. This funding follows over $9.3 billion provided through the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program to row-crop growers and more than $705 million through the Emergency Livestock Relief Program to ranchers nationwide. Nevada producers—particularly cattle operations, dairies, hay growers, and specialty-crop farms—may be eligible for assistance depending on the type of losses sustained during recent wildfire seasons, extreme weather, and other qualifying events.

Stage Two of the disaster program covers crop, tree, bush, and vine losses that were not eligible under Stage One, including quality losses and what USDA refers to as “shallow loss,” or losses not fully indemnified by crop insurance. Producers can review fact sheets and eligibility details at fsa.usda.gov/sdrp.

The first stage of the program, announced in July, remains open to producers who received crop-insurance or Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program indemnities for qualifying 2023 and 2024 events. FSA county offices will begin accepting Stage Two applications on Nov. 24. The deadline to apply for both stages is Apr. 30, 2026. USDA noted that Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, and Massachusetts will receive block-grant funding for crop losses, meaning producers farming land in those states are not eligible for SDRP payments.

Since March, USDA has distributed more than $16 billion in disaster assistance authorized under the American Relief Act of 2025. This includes $9.3 billion through ECAP, over $1 billion through ELRP, and more than $5.7 billion in SDRP Stage One payments so far.

In addition to the crop-loss programs, USDA announced two other assistance options important to Nevada’s dairy and ranching sectors. The Milk Loss Program will distribute up to $1.65 million to dairy operations that were forced to dump or remove milk from the commercial market during qualifying disasters in 2023 or 2024. A separate On-Farm Stored Commodity Loss Program will offer up to $5 million to producers who lost harvested commodities stored in on-farm structures due to natural disasters.

Enrollment for both programs runs Nov. 24, 2025, through Jan. 23, 2026. Information and fact sheets are available at fsa.usda.gov/mlp for milk losses and usda.gov/ofsclp for on-farm stored commodity losses.

No third stage of the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program is planned, according to USDA officials. During the briefing, the administration emphasized that this year’s disaster payments are intended to offer short-term financial stability while producers recover from recent weather-related losses. At the same time, federal officials pointed to newly announced trade agreements with Asian and Western Hemisphere countries as a longer-term strategy to expand foreign markets for U.S. agriculture. For Nevada ranchers, dairies, hay growers, and specialty-crop producers, the combination means immediate relief for documented losses and the potential for broader export opportunities in the years ahead.

For Nevada producers, local FSA offices can assist with documentation requirements and help determine which programs apply to specific losses experienced over the past. two years