An additional $14 billion will be made available for the second round of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP). Signups for CFAP 2 will begin on September 21 and will run through December 11. The funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) program is being made available through the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Charter Act and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The three categories for payments through CFAP 2 are price trigger commodities, flat-rate crops, and sales commodities.
“America’s agriculture communities are resilient, but still face many challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. President Trump is once again demonstrating his commitment to ensure America’s farmers and ranchers remain in business to produce the food, fuel, and fiber America needs to thrive,” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said in a press release. “We listened to feedback received from farmers, ranchers and agricultural organizations about the impact of the pandemic on our nations’ farms and ranches, and we developed a program to better meet the needs of those impacted.”
Price trigger commodities are considered to be commodities that meet a minimum five percent price decline over a certain period of time. Flat-rate crops are those that could not provide supporting data demonstrating a five percent price decline. Sales commodities will include specialty crops, aquaculture, nursery crops, floriculture, and other commodities that are not included in the other two categories. The CFAP 2 will have the same payment limitation of the initial round of CFAP, which is $250,000 per person or entity for all commodities combined.
More information about the program and payment details is available through the USDA’s farmers.gov/cfap webpage. Farmers and ranchers will be able to apply for CFAP 2 at USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) county offices. USDA will be hosting a virtual workshop that will provide more in-depth information about CFAP 2, including payment categories, eligibility requirements, and application information.
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