Farmers and ranchers can begin enrolling next week for $16 billion in direct payments through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP).
Signup will start on May 26 at local U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices.
CFAP will provide direct relief to farmers and ranchers who have suffered a 5 percent or greater price decline due to COVID-19 and face additional significant marketing costs as a result of lower demand, surplus production and disruptions to shipping patterns and the orderly marketing of commodities.
“America’s farming community is facing an unprecedented situation as our nation tackles the coronavirus. President Trump has authorized USDA to ensure our patriotic farmers, ranchers and producers are supported, and we are moving quickly to open applications to get payments out the door and into the pockets of farmers,” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said. “These payments will help keep farmers afloat while market demand returns as our nation reopens and recovers. America’s farmers are resilient and will get through this challenge just like they always do with faith, hard work and determination.”
Farmers and ranchers will receive direct support, drawn from two possible funding sources. The first source of funding is $9.5 billion in appropriated funding provided in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Stability (CARES) Act to compensate farmers for losses due to price declines that occurred between mid-January 2020 and mid-April 2020 and provides support for specialty crops for product that had been shipped from the farm between the same time period but subsequently spoiled due to loss of marketing channels.
The second funding source uses the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act to compensate producers for $6.5 billion in losses due to on-going market disruptions.
Non-Specialty Crops and Wool
Non-specialty crops eligible for CFAP payments include malting barley, canola, corn, upland cotton, millet, oats, soybeans, sorghum, sunflowers, durum wheat and hard red spring wheat. Wool is also eligible. Farmers and ranchers will be paid based on inventory subject to price risk held as of Jan. 15, 2020.
A payment will be made based 50 percent of a farmer’s 2019 total production or the 2019 inventory as of Jan. 15, 2020, whichever is smaller, multiplied by the commodity’s applicable payment rates.
Click here for a graphic to break down the CFAP payments for non-specialty crops.
Click here for a graphic to break down the CFAP payments for wool.
Livestock
Livestock eligible for CFAP include cattle, lambs, yearlings and hogs. The total payment will be calculated using the sum of the rancher’s number of livestock sold between Jan. 15 and April 15, 2020, multiplied by the payment rates per head, and the highest inventory number of livestock between April 16 and May 14, 2020, multiplied by the payment rate per head.
Click here for a graphic to break down the CFAP payments for livestock.
Dairy
For dairy, the total payment will be calculated based on a farmer’s certification of milk production for the first quarter of calendar year 2020 multiplied by a national price decline during the same quarter. The second part of the payment is based a national adjustment to each producer’s production in the first quarter.
Click here for a graphic to break down the CFAP payments for dairy.
Specialty Crops
For eligible specialty crops, the total payment will be based on the volume of production sold between Jan. 15 and April 15, 2020; the volume of production shipped, but unpaid; and the number of acres for which harvested production did not leave the farm or mature product destroyed or not harvested during that same time period, and which have not and will not be sold.
Specialty crops include, but are not limited to, almonds, beans, broccoli, sweet corn, lemons, iceberg lettuce, spinach, squash, strawberries and tomatoes.
A full list of eligible crops can be found on farmers.gov/cfap. Additional crops may be deemed eligible at a later date.
Click here for a graphic to break down CFAP payments for specialty crops.
Eligibility
There is a payment limitation of $250,000 per person or entity for all commodities combined.
Applicants who are corporations, limited liability companies or limited partnerships may qualify for additional payment limits where members actively provide personal labor or personal management for the farming operation.
Farmers and ranchers will also have to certify they meet the Adjusted Gross Income limitation of $900,000 unless at least 75 percent or more of their income is derived from farming, ranching or forestry-related activities. Farmers and ranchers must also be in compliance with Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation provisions.
Applying for Assistance
Farmers and ranchers can apply for assistance beginning May 26, 2020. Additional information and application forms can be found at farmers.gov/cfap.
Documentation to support the farmer’s application and certification may be requested.
FSA has streamlined the signup process to not require an acreage report at the time of application and a USDA farm number may not be immediately needed.
Applications will be accepted through Aug. 28, 2020.
Click here for instructions on how to apply.
Click here to download the application sheet and click here to download the continuation form if you need additional space.
Answers to frequently asked questions are available here.
Payment Structure
To ensure the availability of funding throughout the application period, farmers and ranchers will receive 80 percent of their maximum total payment upon approval of the application. The remaining portion of the payment, not to exceed the payment limit, will be paid at a later date as funds remain available.
USDA Service Centers are open for business by phone appointment only, and field work will continue with appropriate social distancing. While program delivery staff will continue to come into the office, they will be working with producers by phone and using online tools whenever possible.
All Service Center visitors wishing to conduct business with the FSA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, or any other Service Center agency are required to call their Service Center to schedule a phone appointment.
More information can be found at farmers.gov/coronavirus.
Additional Information
CFAP was announced on April 17. The program will use funding and authorities provided in the CARES Act, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and other USDA existing authorities.
This $19 billion immediate relief program includes $16 billion in direct support to farmers and ranchers, as well as $3 billion for the Food Box Distribution Program.
Click here for more details from USDA.