UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Farm Service

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Farm Service Agency

Washington, DC 20250

For: State and County Offices

Emergency Relief Program (ERP) 2022 Track 2 Crop Insurance or

NAP Coverage Certification Reviews

Approved by: Acting Deputy Administrator, Farm Programs

1 Overview

A Background

The ERP statute (Pub. L. 117-328) specifically requires that assistance for insured or NAP

covered losses cannot exceed 90 percent of the loss and assistance for uninsured losses

cannot exceed 70 percent of the loss.

To comply with this statutory requirement, producers applying for ERP 2022 Track 2 must

certify if all acreage of all eligible crops were covered by Federal crop insurance or NAP.

This certification is required to determine the applicable ERP factor used in the Track 2

payment calculation. The producer’s benchmark year revenue is multiplied by the ERP

factor of 90 percent if all acres of all eligible crops were covered by Federal crop insurance

or NAP, or 70 percent if not all acres of all eligible crops were covered by Federal crop

insurance or NAP.

Note: The reason a crop or acres are not covered or coverable does not impact how the

question should be answered. An ERP factor of 90 percent is only applicable if all

acreage of all eligible crops were covered by Federal crop insurance or NAP.

B Purpose

This notice:

• provides clarification of the insurance and NAP coverage certification policy

• requires COC review on all Track 2 applications where a producer certified that all

acreage of all eligible crops were covered by crop insurance or NAP, including

applications that have already been acted upon and paid

• provides instructions for requesting supporting documentation and completing required

COC reviews.

Disposal Date

June 1, 2025

Distribution

State Offices; State Offices relay to County Offices

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Notice ERP-24

2 Crop Insurance or NAP Coverage Certification

A Policy

Producers must certify on FSA-524 if all acreage of all eligible crops (including crops grown,

prevented from being planted, and in storage or inventory in the disaster year) were covered

by crop insurance or NAP for the purpose of determining the applicable ERP factor.

For crops in storage, producers may certify that the crops were covered by crop insurance or

NAP only if all acres of the crop were insured at the time the crop was grown.

Example: A grain bin may contain corn for both the 2021 and 2022 crop years. To be

considered insured, all the corn must have been insured in the 2021 and 2022

growing seasons. See 5-ERP, subparagraph 105 D.

If all acreage of eligible crops were not insured or covered by NAP, regardless of the reason,

producers must certify “No” on FSA-524, item 16.

B Required COC Reviews

COC is required to review ERP 2022 Track 2 applications where the producer checked

“Yes” on FSA-524, item 16, certifying that all acreage of all eligible crops were covered by

crop insurance or NAP.

This requirement is retroactive to ensure all FSA-524’s are reviewed for accuracy.

Note: The Complete Data Report shows all applications where a producer indicated Yes, in

item 16 and can be used by County Offices to identify applications that need to be

reviewed.

C Completing COC Reviews

Since the FSA-524 does not identify the specific crops from which the producer’s revenue was

generated, it may be difficult for COC to verify the certification of insured or NAP-covered

crops. COC may use a producer’s FSA-578, if on file, and other program documents to assist

in completing the review.

If documentation is not on file or does not substantiate the certification, COC will request

supporting documentation from the producer according to 5-ERP, subparagraph 146 A.

Documentation to support the certification may include:

• crop insurance and NAP summary of coverage

• FSA-578

• crop insurance acreage report

• Comprehensive Information Management System (CIMS) data.

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Notice ERP-24

2 Crop Insurance or NAP Coverage Certification (Continued)

C Completing COC Reviews (Continued)

If a producer does not provide documentation or the documentation does not support the

producer’s certification, COC’s will adjust the certification according to 5-ERP,

subparagraph 146 D.

Note: COC actions must be thoroughly documented in the minutes.

D Processing Applications

Since June 10, 2024, approvals, payments, and reprocessing from the Common Payment

Reports have been temporarily disabled in the ERP 2022 software. Although these functions

are currently unavailable, COC reviews will still be conducted.

County Offices will not make any adjustments in the ERP 2022 software as a result of the

COC review until these functions are available. County Offices will document all ERP 2022

applications requiring changes on a manual list, which will be utilized for processing the

corrections once software is available.

State and County Offices will be subsequently notified once software is available and

changes can be processed.

3 Action

A State Office Action

State Offices will:

• ensure that County Offices are aware of and follow the provisions of this notice

• contact Melonie Sullivan at [email protected] with the Safety Net Division with

questions about this notice.

B County Office Action

County Offices will:

• follow the provisions of this notice

• contact their State Office with questions about this notice.

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