WASHINGTON — Three days after USDA reopened from the 41-day government shutdown, top officials moved quickly to roll out a major disaster assistance package that reaches deeper to include the kinds of losses dairy farmers experienced in 2023 and 2024.

During a media briefing Nov. 17, Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden and Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation Richard Fordyce announced that Stage 2 of the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP-2) will open for applications Nov. 24, 2025 through April 30, 2026.

Sign-up for the Milk Loss Program and the On-Farm Stored Commodity Loss Program also opens Nov. 24, 2025, with applications due by Jan. 23, 2026.

Across both SDRP-1 and 2, USDA expects to deliver $16 billion in congressionally approved disaster payments for losses tied to qualifying events in 2023 and 2024. This funding is in addition to $9.3 billion already distributed through the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program and more than $700 million through the Emergency Livestock Relief Program.

Stage 1, announced in July, covered producers who already triggered a crop insurance or NAP indemnity. Stage 2 expands eligibility to include shallow losses, uninsured losses, and a variety of quality losses. Fordyce said the new structure closes a longstanding gap, noting that producers whose losses didn’t exceed their crop insurance deductible “will now be indemnified and receive the same premium and fee refunds that applied under SDRP-1.”

A major change for dairy farmers involves USDA’s recognition of weather-related nutritional deterioration in forage crops.

“The quality loss component of SDRP will cover the decrease in value based on discounts due to the physical condition of the crop as well as decline in nutritional value of forage crops,” Fordyce said.

This means feed quality losses caused by excessive moisture, drought, smoke exposure, freeze, or other disaster events may be eligible. Many dairy farms saw wet haylage, smoke-damaged forage, drought-stunted corn silage, or spoiled inventories during the past two years, which may benefit under this new provision.

Alongside feed losses, USDA’s Milk Loss Program provides compensation for producers forced to dump milk or remove it from the commercial market due to disaster impacts. Fordyce expects participation from nearly every region, pointing to situations where power outages, impassable roads, broken lines, or other weather conditions prevented milk cooling or pickup, making the milk unmarketable.

A third program, the On-Farm Stored Commodity Loss Program, covers harvested commodities lost or damaged in storage as a direct result of qualifying disasters. This applies to farms where storms, flooding, or prolonged humidity compromised feed inventories or storage structures.

USDA also detailed what counts as a qualifying disaster for all three programs. The list reflects the extreme weather patterns of 2023–24 and includes wildfires, hurricanes, floods, derechos, excessive heat, tornadoes, winter storms, freeze events, smoke exposure, excessive moisture, and qualifying drought. For drought eligibility, an area had to have been in D2 drought for at least eight weeks or D3 or worse for any period. Related conditions tied to these events during calendar years 2023 and 2024 also qualify.

Officials noted that nearly every region of the country experienced one or more of these conditions. As a result, dairy operations with forage damage or milk losses may qualify even if their region did not experience a major, headline-making disaster.

While the programs apply nationwide, USDA confirmed that Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, and Massachusetts will administer their own crop loss assistance through state block grants. Producers with crop losses in those states are not eligible for SDRP-1 or 2 payments, but they are eligible for both the Milk Loss Program and the On-Farm Stored Commodity Loss Program.

To date, more than 381,000 producers have received $5.7 billion under SDRP-1, according to USDA. SDRP-2 is expected to draw a broader mix of participants, including dairy farmers with forage quality losses, farmers without crop insurance or access to crop insurance, and those growing specialty crops or other uninsured commodities.

When asked whether a Stage 3 program might follow, Vaden said the two existing stages represent the full program. However, USDA may adjust payment factors upward if available funding exceeds total claims.

“If money is left on the table,” he said, “we’ll use it to increase the payment factor and cover more of the harms producers experienced.”

 Sign-up for the Milk Loss Program and the On-Farm Stored Commodity Loss Program runs through Jan. 23, 2026, while SDRP Stages 1 and 2 remain open until April 30, 2026. USDA urges producers to prepare early by reviewing the SDRP-2 checklist before visiting county FSA offices. The checklist is found at https://www.fsa.usda.gov/documents/sdrp-stage-2-producer-pre-application-checklist

For dairy farmers coping with nutrient-damaged forage, spoiled feed inventories, or dumped milk, this round of USDA disaster relief provides new avenues for compensation, especially for losses that were previously unrecognized or uninsured.

USDA said payment limits for Stage 2 mirror Stage 1. Most producers will be subject to a $125,000-per-calendar-year limit, but that cap rises to $250,000 for operations where at least 75% of Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) comes from farming, ranching, or forestry. Producers of high-value crops may receive up to $900,000 per year if they meet the same 75% AGI test.

Farmers can find additional details, fact sheets, and more at www.fsa.usda.gov/sdrp.