The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced recently that Friday, October 30, 2020 as the deadline to submit applications for the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program -- Plus (WHIP+) for 2018 and 2019 losses. USDA did not originally specify a deadline when the program was announced.
Producers who have not yet applied for the WHIP+ program are encouraged to contact their local FSA office to schedule an appointment prior to October 30.
FSA offices are authorized to maintain a register of producers unable to be accommodated prior to October 30, to ensure they maintain full eligibility.
WHIP+ compensates producers for losses due to hurricane, floods, snowstorms, tornadoes, typhoon, volcanic activity, drought, excessive moisture, and wildfires occurring in calendar years 2018 and 2019. Drought and excessive moisture were added as eligible losses for the program in March 2020. To date, FSA has received more than 133,000 applications for WHIP+ disaster assistance and paid out nearly $1.4 billion in WHIP+ benefits.
Also, FSA has launched a new tool on the WHIP+ webpage (https://www.farmers.gov/recover/whip-plus) to help producers understand eligibility for the program and whether they had possible losses in 2018 and 2019. The tool also allows 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.
For more information or application assistance, visit https://www.farmers.gov/recover/whip-plus or contact your local USDA Service Center.