USDA Offers Additional Assistance for Certain Producers Through Coronavirus Food Assistance Program
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Published
1/19/2021
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is providing additional assistance through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), expanding eligibility for some agricultural producers and commodities as well as updating payments to accurately compensate some producers who already applied for the program. Producers who are now eligible and those who need to modify existing applications due to these updates can contact USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) between Jan. 19 and Feb. 26. Some of these changes are being made to align with the recently enacted Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 while others are discretionary changes being made in response to the ongoing evaluation of CFAP.
Expanded Eligibility for CFAP 2
• Contract producers of swine, broilers, laying hens, chicken eggs and turkeys who suffered a drop in revenue in 2020 as compared to their 2019 revenue because of the pandemic are now eligible for assistance.
• Producers of pullets and turfgrass sod are also now eligible for CFAP payments.
Updated Payment Calculations for CFAP 2
• FSA has also adjusted the sales commodities calculation to take into account crop year 2019 crop insurance indemnities, Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) and Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program-Plus (WHIP+) payments to more accurately represent what a producer would have marketed if not for a cause of loss. This change impacts specialty crops, aquaculture, tobacco, specialty livestock, nursery crops and floriculture, for CFAP 2.
• Additionally, FSA adjusted the payment calculation for certain row crops for CFAP 2, specifically those where a producer had crop insurance coverage but not an available 2020 Actual Production History (APH) approved yield.
CFAP 1 ‘Top-up’ Payments for Swine
• FSA is providing an additional CFAP 1 inventory payment for swine to help producers who face continuing market disruptions from changes in U.S. meat consumption due to the pandemic.
o Swine producers with approved CFAP 1 applications will soon automatically receive an additional $17 per head “top-up” payment.
Newly eligible producers can submit a new CFAP 2 application or producers who need to modify an existing one can do so between Jan. 19 and Feb. 26, 2021, by contacting their local USDA Service Center. New applicants can also obtain one-on-one support with applications by calling 877-508-8364. Learn more at farmers.gov/cfap.
In addition to the changes being made to CFAP, per language in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, FSA will extend 2020 Marketing Assistance Loans to provide additional flexibilities for farmers. FSA is also preparing to move forward on the implementation of the remaining provisions of the recently passed Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.