More funds to come for farmers in WV and beyond impacted by natural disasters in 2023-2024

by Caity Coyne, West Virginia Watch
November 19, 2025

West Virginia farmers whose crops or commodities were affected by natural disasters in 2023 and 2024 will soon be able to access more federal funding to aid their individual recovery, according to a news release from the state Department of Agriculture.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is launching the second stage of the Farm Service Agency’s Supplemental Disaster Relief Program, making $16 billion total available for farmers nationwide who saw their crops or products impacted or destroyed by natural disasters.

Applications for stage two of the relief program will open on Nov. 24. Both stage one and stage two will accept applications until April 30, 2026. Depending on circumstances, farmers may be able to apply and receive funds from both stages of the program.

Per the USDA, the first stage of the program was mostly reserved for farmers with larger losses while stage two covers a broader range, including “shallow losses,” the loss of uninsured crops and drops in crop quality due to a natural disaster.

Natural disasters that would allow a farmer to qualify for either stage of the funding includes: wildfires, hurricanes, floods, derechos, excessive heat, tornadoes, winter storms, freeze (including a polar vortex), smoke exposure, excessive moisture, qualifying drought and related conditions in calendar years 2023 or 2024.

Per the USDA, two counties — Pendleton and Jefferson — met the standards to receive funds due to a qualifying drought in 2023. In 2024, that increased to 53 counties — all but Hancock and McDowell — being eligible.

To date, according to the USDA, 239 applications for losses in West Virginia have been approved through stage one of the Supplemental Disaster Relief Program, totaling about $3.31 million. About $1.98 million of that went toward losses for “specialty and high value crops.”

“West Virginia farmers have faced repeated weather challenges, and many are still recovering,” said Commissioner of Agriculture Kent Leonhardt. “This federal support will help producers rebuild and prepare for the next growing season. We appreciate USDA’s commitment to getting these resources to our farmers when they need them most.”

About $1.87 million of all the funds distributed so far in West Virginia for stage one went to cover losses from apples. Another $980,000 went to corn. Money to cover losses from most other crops — including potatoes, honey, wheat, peaches and more — totaled less than $10,000 per a crop.

The funds for both stage one and two of the USDA’s Supplemental Disaster Relief Program were made available in the American Relief Act passed by Congress under President Joe Biden in December 2024. 

 The newly available funds for farmers come in addition to those made available previously, including $9.3 billion from the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program that went online in May. That money was specifically meant to help farmers who produce certain commodities “mitigate the impacts of increased input costs and falling commodity prices,” per the USDA. 

Across the country, farmers have been lamenting the consequences of increased prices due to tariffs and trade complications. They’ve been asking Congress to help ease the burden of unprofitable harvests, which these funds are supposed to do. 

But, per the New York Times, the money that is needed and made available now may come too late to help farmers who are already preparing for next year’s crop cycles.

YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.

SUPPORT

West Virginia Watch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. West Virginia Watch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Leann Ray for questions: info@westvirginiawatch.com.