The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on Monday that it has given out over $7 billion in the second round of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, (CFAP 2). This is half of the $14 billion allotted for the program. The USDA has allocated payments in response to over 443,00 applications received in the first month of the application period, which began on September 21.
“America’s agriculture communities are resilient, but still face many challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. These payments directed by President Trump will continue to help this critical industry recoup some of their losses from ongoing market disruptions and associated costs,” said Secretary Perdue in the press release. “This program builds upon the over $10 billion disbursed under the first round of CFAP. Agricultural producers who have been impacted by the pandemic since April 2020 are encouraged to apply for assistance.”
The CFAP program and CFAP 2 are meant to offset increased marketing costs and provide financial assistance to agricultural providers who produce commodities which have reduced in value due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The funds go towards producers of specific commodities which have had at least a 5-percent decline in price since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Environmental Working Group did an analysis criticizing the program which found the top one percent of farms received the most money from CFAP.
The USDA also released a website showing data about which states and which commodities have received the most funds. Corn producers have received over $2,182 million and members of the cattle industry have received almost $1,699 million. Other commodities that have received over $100 million include soybeans, sales commodities, milk, wheat, pigs, and cotton. Iowa farmers have received the most funds, with Nebraska, Minnesota, and Illinois following. Farmers in each state, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the Northern Mariana Islands have received funds.
Any farmers or ranchers who have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic can still apply for CFAP 2 funds through December 11.
