The Agriculture Department is taking a second round of applications from farmers for disaster assistance approved during the Biden administration.
As a long-term solution to mounting weather-related losses continues to elude the federal government, USDA officials said Monday they’ll release a second installment of a $16 billion pool provided in the American Relief Act. The funds are intended to help farmers who suffered losses from adverse weather, wildfires and other natural disasters in 2023 and 2024.
Deputy Agriculture Secretary Stephen Vaden said in a conference call with reporters that the assistance will provide farmers with “much needed cash flow” as they face a variety of financial challenges. The funding, through the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program, is in addition to billions of dollars provided through other disaster programs, he said.
Then-President Joe Biden signed the legislation into law last Dec. 21, also temporarily extending the 2018 farm bill. It was crafted by the Republican-led House and Democratic-led Senate at the time.
