MORGANTON, NC (October 8, 2020) — Agricultural producers who continue to face market disruptions because of COVID-19 can sign up for financial assistance from the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP 2), which began on Sept. 21 and runs through Dec. 11 of this year.
CFAP 2 is a separate program from the first round of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, now referred to as CFAP 1. Farmers and ranchers who participated in CFAP 1 will not be automatically enrolled and must complete a new application for CFAP 2. Producers can apply for CFAP 2 by contacting the Burke-McDowell-Caldwell FSA Office at 439-9727 extension 2.
CFAP 2 payments will be made for three categories of commodities – price trigger commodities, flat rate crops and sales commodities.
Price trigger commodities
Price trigger commodities are major commodities that meet a minimum 5%-price decline over a specified period of time. Eligible price trigger crops include barley, corn, sorghum, soybeans, sunflowers, upland cotton, and all classes of wheat.
For broilers and eggs, payment will be based on 75% of the producers’ 2019 production.
Dairy (cow’s milk) payments will be based on actual milk production from April 1 to Aug. 31, 2020. The milk production for Sept. 1, 2020 to Dec. 31, 2020, will be estimated by FSA.
Eligible beef cattle, hogs and pigs, and lambs and sheep payments will be based on the maximum owned inventory of eligible livestock, excluding breeding stock, on a date selected by the producer, between Apr. 16, 2020, and Aug. 31, 2020.
Flat-rate Crops
Crops that either do not meet the 5-percent price decline trigger or do not have data available to calculate a price change will have payments calculated based on eligible 2020 acres multiplied by $15 per acre. These crops include alfalfa, extra-long staple (ELS) cotton, oats, peanuts, rice, hemp, millet, mustard, safflower, sesame, triticale, rapeseed, and several others.
Sales Commodities
Sales commodities include most fruits and vegetables; aquaculture; nursery crops and floriculture; other commodities not included in the price trigger and flat-rate categories, including tobacco; goat milk; mink (including pelts); mohair; wool; and other livestock (excluding breeding stock) not included under the price trigger category that were grown for food, fiber, fur or feathers. Payment calculations will use a sales-based approach, where producers are paid based on five payment gradations associated with their 2019 sales.
Additional commodities are eligible in CFAP 2 that weren’t eligible in the first iteration of the program. If your agricultural operation has been impacted by the pandemic since April 2020, we encourage you to apply for CFAP 2. A complete list of eligible commodities can be found on farmers.gov/cfap.
Applying for Assistance
Producers can apply for assistance through Dec. 11, 2020 by contacting the Burke-McDowell-Caldwell FSA office.
The Burke-McDowell-Caldwell FSA Office is open for business by phone appointment only. Please call 439-9727 extension 2 for an appointment. All Service Center visitors wishing to conduct business with the FSA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, or any other Service Center to schedule a phone appointment. More information can be found at farmers.gov/coronavirus.