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Ag economist expecting additional disaster relief assistance

An ag economist at the University of Illinois is expecting farmers to see additional disaster assistance through the American Relief Act of 2025.

Gary Schnitkey says the legislation includes $21 billion that was allocated for natural disasters.

“This is a continuation of the WHIP plus ERP programs,” he says. “We are expecting those to go into 2023 and 2024. If you have an RFP coverage level of 80% or higher, this will top up crop insurance to 95%.

He says it’s unknown when the funds will be distributed, but it could help alleviate some financial uncertainty.

“Obviously it’s helping out quite a bit with the low incomes that we’re having for 2024 and likely for 2025,” he says. “The bad thing probably about these is that they postpone cost declines.”

Schnitkey made his comments during a recent Farmdoc webinar.