ARLINGTON, VA – On November 17, more than 140 agriculture organizations, including USA Rice and several state rice groups, sent a letter to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack outlining major concerns with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) recently released 2022 Emergency Relief Program (ERP).
“[W]e are very concerned about two newly introduced ERP 2022 provisions outlined in program guidance released on October 27: (1) progressive payment factors used to prorate payments; and (2) the method used to incorporate producer-paid insurance premiums,” the groups said. “Neither of these provisions was part of ERP 2020 or ERP 2021, and both appear inconsistent with congressional intent of the enabling legislation… While we appreciate the funding restraints under which ERP 2022 was developed, we believe that USDA should instead aim to provide more equitable support for losses of all magnitudes. This can be achieved by using a single, uniform factor, as USDA has done in the past. With regards to incorporating the producer-paid premiums, this change will keep some growers from qualifying for any assistance and create a significant disparity of payments among producers.”
The groups go on to say, “Although Phase 1 of ERP 2020 and ERP 2021 were not perfect, they were well received by farmers experiencing losses and provided a more equitable approach to assistance than ERP 2022. We urge USDA to alter the current program calculations in a manner that more fully meets the needs of all producers.”
Read the full letter
here. USA Rice also highlighted these issues with ERP 2022 in the
USA Rice Daily, November 15, 2023.
On November 27, representatives from the USA Rice Farmers, the leading national rice farmers organization representing all U.S. rice farmers, met with USDA Farm Service Agency Administrator Zach Ducheneaux to discuss these concerns, as well as to offer USA Rice’s appreciation for the rollout of the Rice Production Program earlier this year.
“We appreciated FSA Administrator Ducheneaux and his staff for taking time to meet with us this week to discuss our longstanding relationship with the agency and collaborating on the future development of programs,” said LG Raun, a Texas rice farmer and chair of the USA Rice Farmers. “We offered our thanks for the timely, effective, and efficient rollout of the Rice Production Program, and shared our concerns with the ERP 2022 and the negative impact the program’s current structure will have on rice farmers who experienced losses due to natural disasters in crop year 2022.”