USDA to Resume WHIP+ and QLA Program Payments

The USDA announced that more than $1 billion in funds will be released for farmers that had their applications approved for the Quality Loss Adjustment (QLA) Program and the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus )WHIP+.) This is for the 2018 and 2019 crop years. Qualifying for the QLA for example, maybe you had really light test weight corn because of the weather. Depending on how low the test weight was you may quality for the QLA Program.

The Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program was a little more complicated especially for County Farm Service Agency staff to fill out. When the program was first announced I did not pay any attention to the program because there are not many hurricanes and wildfires in Minnesota! Then the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program was revised to WHIP plus. The revision to the plus meant crop losses because of wind and excessive rain meant many farmers in Minnesota now qualified for the program.

All we had to do was take our proven production records that we needed for crop insurance over to the Farm Service Agency office. Then the staff entered the information in a very complicated USDA form that took a lot of time. If you qualified then all we had to do was sign the form.

With the Biden Administration and a new Secretary of Agriculture the WHIP+ and QLA programs were put on hold so they could be reviewed. It was good news for farmers that qualified for the programs when the USDA announced the payments would resume. If you think you may qualify check with your local Farm Service Agency office!