HIGGINSVILLE, Mo. (DTN) --- Farmers hit with natural disasters in 2023 and 2024 who filed claims under the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program (SDRP) will receive a second "top-up" payment starting next week, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced on Friday.

For at least some producers, this top-up payment could factor in their ability to get operating loans this spring, a top USDA official said.

Rollins held a roundtable with Missouri farmers east of Kansas City, Missouri, that focused heavily on fertilizer challenges but also delved into a range of other issues facing producers now. Rollins told reporters afterward that the Trump administration expects to make an announcement next week about investments or incentives meant to spur the development of more domestic fertilizer production.

The secretary and Missouri officials also used the event to highlight jobs coming into the state with reorganization plans that will move hundreds of staff from the Economic Research Service (ERS) and National Institute for Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to Kansas City, and National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) jobs to St Louis.

SUPPLEMENTAL DISASTER RELIEF UPDATE

USDA announced farmers will receive a second payment under the SDRP that will essentially double the aid they receive under the program. USDA has paid $6.7 billion so far under the SDRP.

SDRP payments initially had a 35% payment factor, meaning producers saw payments equaling 35% of the allowable economic loss reported. After further analysis, Rollins said USDA is increasing the payment factor to 70%.

"So, this is a significant increase in additional funds for our farmers and ranchers," Rollins said.

Producers with approved applications will see their payments double, and those payments should start arriving next week.

USDA also extended the deadline for SDRP applications from April 30 to Aug. 12, Rollins said.

"This extension gives our producers and our FSA team -- our great FSA team -- more time to address any program application changes that might impact payments," she said.

Richard Fordyce, USDA's undersecretary for farm production and conservation, also said USDA officials met last week with members of the American Bankers Association (ABA) who had brought up the issue about making a top-up payment on SDRP.

"There are borrowers whose lenders are waiting on that announcement," Fordyce said. "So, this announcement is super important, very powerful, when it comes to farmers and others looking for credit and securing credit for this crop year."

Fordyce also said one reason signup was extended was to address quality losses. At least some producers and local Farm Service Agency (FSA) staff might not have understood what qualifies as a quality loss under the program.

"So, we are doing a re-education of staff," Fordyce said. "We're working through some policy changes on how we address quality."

Rice farmers in the Mid-South, for instance, have bins of rice from 2024 they haven't been able to sell because of quality issues. But they haven't been able to collect SDRP payments for a crop they haven't sold, either. Fordyce acknowledged that problem. Other farmers who direct market produce or other commodities may have the same issues.

"We are trying to understand the issues and absolutely be as helpful as we can so we can accept documentation that may not be what we think of as traditional documentation so that they can prove there was a quality loss," he said.

SDRP was created after Congress provided more than $20 billion in disaster aid to deal with weather-related losses in 2023 and 2024.

LOOKING AT FERTILIZER INVESTMENTS

With high fertilizer and fuel prices becoming a major concern at planting season, Rollins hinted at announcements from the administration that could come over the next week or two. While those steps may not provide short-term relief, they are expected to bolster long-term supplies.

Recognizing the spike in fertilizer prices since the war in Iran ignited, Rollins said that has highlighted the need to "build out infrastructure" for fertilizer. That's going to take both capital and time, the secretary indicated.

"We've had so much consolidation in fertilizer that a lot of the fertilizer companies that we rely on are not American companies, and that is a massive national security issue," she said.

Rollins said she is making the fertilizer issue "an all-of-government effort" to increase domestic production. She pointed to the prospect of tapping an investment fund controlled by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to boost domestic manufacturing.

"He (Lutnick) has built, with the president's leadership, a significant investment fund for America to reshore," Rollins said.

Rollins said she has asked Lutnick to consider providing "a significant number" of dollars that could be used to build more domestic fertilizer plants.

USDA also has identified fertilizer plants either under construction or waiting on permits that ideally also could be accelerated through some federal stimulus, she said.

"It sometimes takes years to get through permitting," Rollins said. "Our goal is, instead of years, to get that permitting in a matter of weeks or perhaps months so that even in one year, two years, three years we will have facilities up and running."

While acknowledging a nitrogen fertilizer plant takes billions of dollars to build, the secretary said the U.S. is flush with liquid natural gas -- the biggest ingredient for nitrogen fertilizer -- and that is going to help spur more long-term production.

"So, this is going to happen quicker than you would normally expect," she said.

Rollins also noted the Trump administration had extended its waiver of the Jones Act an additional 60 days, meaning companies do not need to rely on U.S.-flagged ships to move fertilizer products from one domestic port to another.

The secretary has been critical of fertilizer company profits and industry consolidation since fertilizer prices jumped in early March. Rollins said she met on Wednesday with Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to reiterate a USDA-DOJ memorandum signed last year to examine input prices and possible antitrust issues when it comes to farm inputs.

As DTN's weekly "Retail Fertilizer Trends" column highlighted, nitrogen prices are spiking. Anhydrous ammonia, for instance, broke above $1,100 per ton this week, which is 30% higher than it was at the end of February.

See "DTN Retail Fertilizer Trends" here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

Also see "USDA Picks Iowa for New Food Safety HQ and Shifts ERS, NIFA, NASS Jobs" here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com

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