10.975: Emergency Relief Program Outreach Education and Technical Assistance

10.975

Active

Farm Service Agency (FSA) [USDA]

March 7, 2023

March 7, 2023

The Emergency Relief Program (ERP) is intended to help agricultural producers offset the impacts of natural disasters in 2020 and 2021. Congress included emergency funding in the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act (P.L. 117-43). ERP’s first round of disaster funding provided payments to producers using existing data and did not require outreach because producers were automatically enrolled in the program. The second phase of ERP is aimed at filling gaps and providing assistance to producers who did not participate in or receive payments through the existing risk management programs that were leveraged for phase 1 implementation. Phase 2 of ERP will provide assistance to producers who suffered losses due to qualifying natural disasters in 2020 and 2021. This program will be revenue based and will require participation in a risk management program for the next two crop years. These eligibility criteria and risk management linkage requirements create unique needs around outreach and technical assistance for this program. Producers will need to supply information to FSA that would typically be found on their Schedule F tax forms, and if they have not filed a Schedule F, be able to supply acceptable revenue records or create the required application data from their own farm records. Producers will also need to identify and enroll in the appropriate risk management program for their operation. The assistance ERP program participants will need in order to supply application information will be unique to their individual operation and tax situation, and more technical than the information we typically provide as part of general outreach and program education. As a result, the communication, technical support, and outreach strategies around ERP for producers need to be focused, targeted and technical in nature. This program also offers the opportunity to connect with producers who have not worked with their local FSA office, and an opportunity to not only participate in ERP but also serve as a gateway to risk management tools and other FSA and USDA programs and services. FSA has $8 million available for cooperative agreements to provide outreach and technical assistance for the Emergency Relief Program Phase 2. The Farm Service Agency (FSA), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), seeks to partner with stakeholder organizations to effectively reach producers, including those that are small, underserved, and not currently participating in existing programs who did not apply under phase 1 of the ERP program. FSA is seeking proposals from eligible entities that focus on outreach for increasing awareness about ERP and have the primary goal of connecting landowners interested in program participation to apply under a traditional FSA application process. Expeditated outreach by stakeholders should include: • Technical assistance support • Tools for nontraditional customers • Office hours for stakeholders • Targeted, timely stakeholder feedback on areas that need improvement.

Applicants and applications must meet eligibility criteria by the application deadline to be considered for award. Applicant entities identified in the SAM.gov exclusions database as ineligible, prohibited/restricted, or excluded from receiving Federal contracts and certain Federal assistance and benefits will not be considered for Federal funding, as applicable to the funding being requested under this Federal program (2 CFR 200.206(d)).

Not Applicable

https://sam.gov/fal/0ba6821112fc407b832e6a7aabfcd40d/view