Agricultural producers: apply now for USDA’s Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP)

Agricultural producers can now apply for USDA’s Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP). Producers should apply through their local Farm Service Agency Service Center.

The CFAP provides vital financial assistance to producers of agricultural commodities who have suffered a 5% 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.

Eligible commodities include:

• 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, avocados, blueberries, cantaloupe, grapefruit, kiwifruit, lemons, oranges, papaya, peaches, pears, raspberries, strawberries, tangerines, 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

In addition, the USDA is looking for data on agricultural commodities that are not currently eligible for CFAP but that the public believes to have either:

1. suffered a 5% or greater price decline between mid-January and mid-April as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,
2. shipped but subsequently spoiled due to loss of marketing channel, or
3. not left the farm or remained unharvested as mature crops.

The USDA is particularly interested in the obtaining information with respect to the following specific categories of agricultural commodities:

• Nursery products
• Aquaculture products
• Cut flowers

Comments may be submitted through either of the following methods by June 22, 2020:

• Federal Rulemaking Portal – Go to regulations.gov and search for Docket ID FSA-2020-0004. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
• Mail – Director, SND, FSA, US Department of Agriculture, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Stop 0522, Washington, DC 20250-0522.

Learn more by watching our video on the Notice of Funding Availability or by visiting farmers.gov/cfap.