To provide immediate financial assistance to farmers impacted by COVID-19, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act provided the Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue with an immediate $9.5 billion and the Commodity Credit Corporation with a $14 billion replenishment. Combining existing CCC funding of $6.5 billion with the $9.5 billion appropriated, Perdue created a $16 billion Coronavirus Food Assistance Program that will provide direct payments to farmers and ranchers to partially offset COVID-19 related losses for livestock and specialty and nonspecialty crops. After USDA unveiled the program, the American Farm Bureau Federation dug in to get the details of these payments.

CFAP 2 Introduced: Applications now being accepted

The Coronavirus Food Assistance Program provides vital financial assistance to producers of agricultural commodities who have suffered a 5% or greater price decline or who had losses due to market supply chain disruptions due to COVID-19 and face additional significant market costs. 

Among eligible commodities:

  • Non-specialty Crops: malting barley, canola, corn, upland cotton, millet, oats, soybeans, sorghum, sunflowers, durum wheat and hard red spring wheat
  • Wool
  • Livestock: cattle, hogs and sheep (lambs and yearlings only)
  • Dairy
  • Specialty Crops
  • Fruits: apples, blueberries, cantaloupe, peaches, pears, raspberries, strawberries, tomatoes, watermelons
  • Vegetables: artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, sweet corn, cucumbers, eggplant, garlic, iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, dry onions, green onions, peppers, potatoes, rhubarb, spinach, squash, sweet potatoes, taro
  • Nuts: almonds, pecans, walnuts
  • Other: beans, mushrooms

Changes announced July 9:

Adding the following commodities: 

  • Alfalfa sprouts, anise, arugula, basil, bean sprouts, beets, blackberries, Brussels sprouts, celeriac (celery root), chives, cilantro, coconuts, collard greens, dandelion greens, greens (others not listed separately), guava, kale greens, lettuce – including Boston, green leaf, Lolla Rossa, oak leaf green, oak leaf red and red leaf – marjoram, mint, mustard, okra, oregano, parsnips, passion fruit, peas (green), pineapple, pistachios, radicchio, rosemary, sage, savory, sorrel, fresh sugarcane, Swiss chard, thyme and turnip top greens.
  • Expanding for seven currently eligible commodities — apples, blueberries, garlic, potatoes, raspberries, tangerines and taro — CARES Act funding for sales losses because USDA found these commodities had a 5% or greater price decline between mid-January and mid-April as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally, these commodities were only eligible for marketing adjustments.
  • Determining that peaches and rhubarb no longer qualify for payment under the CARES Act sales loss category.
  • Correcting payment rates for apples, artichokes, asparagus, blueberries, cantaloupes, cucumbers, garlic, kiwifruit, mushrooms, papaya, peaches, potatoes, raspberries, rhubarb, tangerines and taro.

Changes announced Aug. 11:

Adding the following additional commodities:

  • Specialty Crops – aloe leaves, bananas, batatas, bok choy, carambola (star fruit), cherimoya, chervil (french parsley), citron, curry leaves, daikon, dates, dill, donqua (winter melon), dragon fruit (red pitaya), endive, escarole, filberts, frisee, horseradish, kohlrabi, kumquats, leeks, mamey sapote, maple sap (for maple syrup), mesculin mix, microgreens, nectarines, parsley, persimmons, plantains, pomegranates, pummelos, pumpkins, rutabagas, shallots, tangelos, turnips/celeriac, turmeric, upland/winter cress, water cress, yautia/malanga, and yuca/cassava.
  • Non-Specialty Crops and Livestock – liquid eggs, frozen eggs and all sheep. Only lambs and yearlings (sheep less than two years old) were previously eligible.
  • Aquaculture – catfish, crawfish, largemouth bass and carp sold live as foodfish, hybrid striped bass, red drum, salmon, sturgeon, tilapia, trout, ornamental/tropical fish, and recreational sportfish.
  • Nursery Crops and Flowers – nursery crops and cut flowers.

Other changes:

  • Seven commodities – onions (green), pistachios, peppermint, spearmint, walnuts and watermelons – are now eligible for Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Stability (CARES) Act funding for sales losses. Originally, these commodities were only eligible for payments on marketing adjustments.
  • Correcting payment rates for onions (green), pistachios, peppermint, spearmint, walnuts, and watermelons.

 

Online Extra

Ben Brown, assistant professor of Professional Practice in Agricultural Risk Management at Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Science’s Department of Agricultural, Environmental and Development Economics, provides additional background about CFAP, along with information about eligibility requirements, the application process and payment rates that he and his team laid out in a new report.

New and beginning farmers
My first recommendation in your journey is to start out with a local farming friend or mentor along with joining an organization like Ohio Farm Bureau.
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Greg McGlinch

Darke County Farm Bureau

Growing Tomorrow Grant
We’re just so thankful for the Farm Bureau and the foundation for helping put this together. And of course, the Boyert family for the vision they had with this grant. It’s jumping us forward 10 years. It’s unbelievable.
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Nathan and Jill Parriman

Clermont County Farm Bureau

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I could not have done it without the resources I have found through Farm Bureau.
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Gretchan Francis

Trumbull County Farm Bureau

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Wyatt Morrow

Clinton County Farm Bureau

Giving farmers a voice
The issue of property taxation remains as one of the biggest challenges our members face today. Ensuring agricultural property is valued for its agricultural potential and not development is critical to the continued success of Ohio agriculture.
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Matt Aultman

Darke County Farm Bureau

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Through the Select Partner program, we became educated in farm insurance and weren't just selling policies. It became more and more clear why farmers need an advocate like Ohio Farm Bureau.
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Chad Ruhl

Farm manager, CSI Insurance

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So many of the issues that OFBF and its members are advocating for are important to all Ohioans. I look at OFBF as an agricultural watchdog advocating for farmers and rural communities across Ohio.
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Mary Smallsreed

Trumbull County Farm Bureau

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