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USDA Says Some Farmers Can Keep ERP 2022 Payments Previously Considered Overpayments

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) has issued an official announcement explaining how it will apply a new legal provision that allows certain crop producers to retain Emergency Relief Program 2022 (ERP 2022) payments that would otherwise have to be repaid as overpayments.

Why Some ERP 2022 Payments Were Considered Overpayments

According to the announcement published in the Federal Register, ERP 2022 provided payments to eligible crop producers for losses caused by qualifying disaster events in calendar year 2022, including wildfires, hurricanes, floods, derechos, excessive heat, tornadoes, winter storms, freeze events such as a polar vortex, smoke exposure, excessive moisture, qualifying drought, and related conditions.

The program was administered in two tracks. Track 2, which used a revenue-based approach, required producers to certify whether all of their eligible crops were insured or covered under the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP). Producers who certified that all crops were insured received payments calculated at a 90 percent factor, while those who indicated some crops were uninsured received payments at a 70 percent factor, in line with program rules capping total relief at those thresholds.

In some cases, producers certified that all eligible crops were insured when they also grew another crop that was not insured or covered under NAP. Where that uninsured crop represented little or no actual revenue loss, the producer’s payment was still calculated using the higher 90 percent factor, which FSA classified as an overpayment — meaning those producers faced potential repayment obligations.

New Rule Creates a 10% De Minimis Threshold

A provision in the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 addressed these situations by introducing a “de minimis” standard. Under this provision, if the revenue loss attributable to a producer’s non-insured or non-covered crops is considered de minimis, as defined by the Secretary of Agriculture through this notice, the producer may keep their full ERP 2022 payment calculated at the 90 percent factor, up to a cap of 90 percent of total revenue losses. The FSA notice formally defines what qualifies as “de minimis” under this standard.

FSA defines a de minimis amount as a revenue loss from crops without federal crop insurance or NAP coverage that is no more than 10% of the producer’s total revenue loss for all eligible crops reported on the ERP 2022 application.

Which Farmers May Be Able to Keep Their Payments

This announcement primarily affects crop producers who participated in ERP 2022 Track 2, certified that all eligible crops were insured, and received payments at the 90 percent factor — but who also had a small amount of uninsured crop revenue losses.

Eligible Producers Must Submit a Certification to FSA

FSA says affected producers will be notified and must submit Form FSA-524-C within 60 calendar days of notification. Producers who think they qualify but don’t receive a notice are encouraged to contact their FSA county office.

Producers who believe they may be affected by this change should contact the FSA directly. Michael Walter is listed as the agency contact and can be reached by telephone at (816) 491-6934. Individuals with disabilities requiring alternative communication may contact the USDA Target Center at (202) 720-2600 or dial 711 for Telecommunications Relay Service.

As with all federal farm program matters, readers are encouraged to verify their individual situation directly with the FSA or a qualified agricultural advisor, as eligibility and payment determinations depend on each producer’s specific circumstances.

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