Coronavirus Food Assistance Program
To provide immediate financial assistance to farmers and ranchers impacted by COVID-19, Congress has provided relief funds through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). The CARES act provided the Agriculture secretary with a fund of $9.5 billion and the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) with $14 billion in replenishment funds. The Secretary has combined the $9.5 billion appropriated with existing CCC funds of $6.5 billion to create the $16 billion Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) that will provide direct payments to farmers and ranchers to partially offset COVID-19 related losses for livestock, specialty and non-specialty crop farms.

The $16 billion in direct payments will financially assist producers with additional adjustment and marketing costs resulting from lost demand due to COVID-19. To qualify for a payment, a commodity must have declined in price by at least 5% between mid-January and mid-April 2020. The payments will be based upon actual production and losses in response to price declines and supply chain disruptions. Producers will receive 80% of their maximum total payment upon approval of their application. The remaining 20% that does not exceed the payment limit will be paid at a later date.

A payment limitation of $250,000 is applied to the total amount of CFAP payments made for all eligible commodities. Also, entities structured as corporations, limited liability companies and limited partnerships may receive $250,000 per shareholder, up to $750,000 for those who contribute at least 400 hours of active person management or personal active labor. This is a separate payment limit. Participation in other FSA programs will not impact your eligibility, and participation in CFAP will not impact your eligibility for other programs.  

Commodity Breakdown:

• Livestock - Producers of cattle, hogs, and sheep will receive a single payment for livestock calculated using the sum of the producer’s number of livestock sold between January 15 and April 15, 2020, multiplied by the payment rates per head, and the highest inventory number of livestock between April 16 and May 14, 2020, multiplied by the payment rate per head. For additional details of eligible livestock and payment rate, see www.farmers.gov/cfap/livestock.
• Dairy - Dairy producers are eligible for a CFAP payment if milk production occurred in January, February, and/or March 2020. Any dumped milk production during those months qualifies for assistance. A single payment is available for dairy producers based on a producer’s certification of milk production for the first quarter of the calendar year 2020 multiplied by $4.71 per hundredweight. The second part of the payment is based on a national adjustment to each producer’s production in the first quarter. For details of the program, see www.farmers.gov/cfap and click on Dairy to link to the FSA fact sheet.
• Specialty Crops - Specialty crop producers are eligible for CFAP if they 1) had crops that suffered a 5% or greater price decline between mid-January and mid-April as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; and 2) had produce shipped but subsequently spoiled due to loss of marketing channel, and 3) had shipments that did not leave the farm or mature crops that remained unharvested. Payment rates vary depending on the crop and loss type. Crops covered include pecans, strawberries, sweet potatoes, and many others. For detailed information about covered crops and payment rates, see www.farmers.gov/cfap/specialty.
• Non-Specialty Crops - For non-specialty crops, including upland cotton, corn, soybeans, sorghum and several others, payments will be based upon actual 2019 production and will be based upon inventory subject to price risk held as of January 15, 2020. A single payment will be made based upon 50% of a producer’s 2019 total production or the 2019 inventory as of January 15, 2020, whichever is smaller, multiplied by 50% and then multiplied by the commodity’s applicable payment rates. Producers are required to provide their total 2019 production for the eligible commodity and the amount of the crop that was not sold as of January 15, 2020. For detailed information about covered crops and payment rates, see www.farmers.gov/cfap/non-specialty.

Sign-up
Sign-up began on May 26, 2020 and will continue through August 28, 2020. Eligible producers can apply for CFAP at their USDA-FSA office. It is important to note that FSA is currently open by appointment only due to COVID-19, so call before you go. A CFAP payment calculator in Microsoft Excel format is available at www.farmers.gov/cfap to assist you with the application process. The workbook allows you to input information specific to your operation to determine estimated payments and populate the application form. If you prefer to apply with paper forms, you can print those at the same link. Producers self-certify when they apply for CFAP, but you may be asked for additional information to support your certification, so you should retain the documentation used to complete your application.