Yesterday, the USDA announced new programs and plans to bring financial assistance to farmers affected by COVID-19 market disruptions. Among these announcements was increased payments to previous rounds of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP1, CFAP2, and CFAP-AA), and a re-opening of the application window for CFAP2 for at least 60 days beginning April 5th, 2021.
Ambrook is committed to helping farmers find and apply to farm funding, and will enable producers to automatically apply to CFAP2 as soon as it’s available the week of April 5th.
Update: Ambrook’s calculator and online applications are live! Apply to CFAP2
Coronavirus relief in review
According to the USDA’s CFAP2 data portal, over 879,000 applications were previously approved for payments totaling around $13.2 billion.
Among this, corn received more payments than any other commodity category at around $3.4 billion, followed by cattle, sales commodities, soybeans, milk, wheat, and pigs. Iowa and California operations received the largest grand total payouts above $1 billion each, followed by Nebraska, Minnesota, and Illinois in the hundreds of millions.
With the newly appropriated funds, there is an opportunity for operations in other categories and states to receive support needed to recover from the pandemic.
Who is eligible now?
Producers that previously applied to CFAP2 are not eligible to re-apply, but any qualifying producer that missed the original application window will be eligible. This includes:
Aquaculture
Broilers, Eggs, and Pullets
Dairy
Floriculture and Nursery Crops
Livestock
Livestock by Contract Growers
Row Crops
Specialty Crops
Specialty Livestock
Tobacco
Wool
The Farm Service Agency (FSA) has also committed $2.5M to establish partnership with grassroots organizations with strong connections to socially disadvantaged communities and improve their direct outreach to these groups. This reaffirms their commitment to ensuring that all farmers, regardless of size or background, are able to access farm assistance.
Producers must also meet other eligibility requirements. If you choose to apply on Ambrook, your eligibility will be determined for you automatically. You can also read more on farmers.gov/cfap.
What if I already applied to CFAP1, CFAP2, or CFAP-AA?
The USDA announced several payment increases to previous CFAP applicants, including cattle producers, row and specialty crops, and all CFAP-AA applications.
If you previously applied to one of these programs, you should automatically receive increased payments without requiring new paperwork. If you need to make any adjustments, you can contact your local USDA service center.
Other pandemic assistance announcements
The USDA will dedicate $6B to other assistance programs, the details of which have not yet been fully announced. In addition, $500M has been allocated to support existing programs and services, including the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, Farmers Opportunities Training and Outreach program, Local Agricultural Marketing Program, and the Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program, and several other agriculture services.
Next steps for producers
Click the “Get Notified” bell here to get notified and on the waitlist for when CFAP2 applications open on Ambrook.
Update: Apply to CFAP2 on Ambrook
Photo Credit: USDA
