USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) said that October 30 is now the deadline for affected producers to submit applications for the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program – Plus (WHIP-Plus) for 2018 and 2019 losses. USDA did not originally specify a deadline when the program was announced.
FSA will launch a new tool on the farmers.gov WHIP-Plus webpage to help producers understand eligibility for the program and whether they had possible losses in 2018 and 2019. The tool will also allow producers an opportunity to provide information for FSA staff to reach out to them.
FSA will announce soon the details for producers who experienced quality loss from 2018 and 2019 natural disaster events authorized in appropriations legislation. There will be a separate signup period for producers reporting quality loss.
FSA has received more than 133,000 applications for WHIP-Plus disaster assistance and paid out nearly $1.4 billion in WHIP-Plus benefits.