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USDA Announces Details of Direct Assistance to Farmers through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP)-You may be eligible If you could not harvest any crops between mid Jan  to mid April or if you could receive payment for lost sales or price declines of produce. You say, hey this is Michigan- what grows in the winter but consider production of produce in greenhouses and high tunnels as well as storage crops and asparagus. If you had a crop to sell during this time and it did not make it to the point sale(or you did not receive payment) for some reason you may be eligible for this support. I have attached the form that must be completed as well as calling your FSA office to set up an appointment to apply.
For additional information and record keeping resources visit the USDA site: https://www.farmers.gov/cfap where you will find additional information on eligibility, restrictons and requirements.

Farmers and Ranchers to Receive Direct Support for Losses Related to COVID-19- Bolded text is of particular relevance to Michigan farmers

Beginning May 26, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), through the Farm Service Agency (FSA), will be accepting applications from agricultural producers who have suffered losses. So call your FSA office today to start the process; here is the link to find the office that serves you in Michigan. https://offices.sc.egov.usda.gov/locator/app?state=mi&agency=fsa
Press Release
Release No. 0266.20

Contact: USDA Press
Email: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>

(Washington, D.C., May 19, 2020) – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced details of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), which will provide up to $16 billion in direct payments to deliver relief to America’s farmers and ranchers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. In addition to this direct support to farmers and ranchers, USDA’s Farmers to Families Food Box<https://www.ams.usda.gov/selling-food-to-usda/farmers-to-families-food-box> program is partnering with regional and local distributors, whose workforces have been significantly impacted by the closure of many restaurants, hotels, and other food service entities, to purchase $3 billion in fresh produce, dairy, and meat and deliver boxes to Americans in need.

Background:

CFAP provides vital financial assistance to producers of agricultural commodities who have suffered a five-percent-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.

Farmers and ranchers will receive direct support, drawn from two possible funding sources. The first source of funding is $9.5 billion in appropriated funding provided in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Stability (CARES) Act to compensate farmers for losses due to price declines that occurred between mid-January 2020, and mid-April 2020 and provides support for specialty crops for product that had been shipped from the farm between the same time period but subsequently spoiled due to loss of marketing channels. The second funding source uses the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act to compensate producers for $6.5 billion in losses due to on-going market disruptions.

Non-Specialty Crops and Wool

Non-specialty crops eligible for CFAP payments include malting barley, canola, corn, upland cotton, millet, oats, soybeans, sorghum, sunflowers, durum wheat, and hard red spring wheat. Wool is also eligible. Producers will be paid based on inventory subject to price risk held as of January 15, 2020. A payment will be made based 50 percent of a producer’s 2019 total production or the 2019 inventory as of January 15, 2020, whichever is smaller, multiplied by the commodity’s applicable payment rates.

Livestock

Livestock eligible for CFAP include cattle, lambs, yearlings and hogs. The total payment will be 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.

Dairy

For dairy, the total payment will be calculated based on a producer’s certification of milk production for the first quarter of calendar year 2020 multiplied by a national price decline during the same quarter. The second part of the payment is based a national adjustment to each producer’s production in the first quarter.

Specialty Crops

For eligible specialty crops, the total payment will be based on the volume of production sold between January 15 and April 15, 2020; the volume of production shipped, but unpaid; and the number of acres for which harvested production did not leave the farm or mature product destroyed or not harvested during that same time period, and which have not and will not be sold. Specialty crops include, but are not limited to, almonds, mushrooms, dry beans, broccoli, sweet corn, lemons, iceberg lettuce, spinach, squash, asparagus, sweet potatoes, strawberries and tomatoes. A full list of eligible crops can be found on farmers.gov/cfap<https://www.farmers.gov/cfap>. Additional crops may be deemed eligible at a later date.

Eligibility

There is a payment limitation of $250,000 per person or entity for all commodities combined. Applicants who are corporations, limited liability companies or limited partnerships may qualify for additional payment limits where members actively provide personal labor or personal management for the farming operation. Producers will also have to certify they meet the Adjusted Gross Income limitation of $900,000 unless at least 75 percent or more of their income is derived from farming, ranching or forestry-related activities. Producers must also be in compliance with Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation provisions.

Applying for Assistance

Producers can apply for assistance beginning on May 26, 2020. Additional information and application forms can be found at farmers.gov/cfap<https://www.farmers.gov/cfap>. Producers of all eligible commodities will apply through their local FSA office. Documentation to support the producer’s application and certification may be requested. FSA has streamlined the signup process to not require an acreage report at the time of application and a USDA farm number may not be immediately needed. Applications will be accepted through August 28, 2020.

Payment Structure

To ensure the availability of funding throughout the application period, producers will receive 80 percent of their maximum total payment upon approval of the application. The remaining portion of the payment, not to exceed the payment limit, will be paid at a later date as funds remain available.

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Vicki Morrone
Organic Farming Specialist
Center for Regional Food Systems at Michigan State University
480 Wilson Rd
East Lansing, MI 48824
517-282-3557 (cell)
[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>
www.MichiganOrganic.msu.edu<http://www.MichiganOrganic.msu.edu>
sorrone11 (skype)

Diversity is having a seat at the table, inclusion is having a voice, and belonging is having that voice be heard.



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