Farmers struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic can share an additional $14 billion in aid, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced last week.
Sign-ups for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program are underway through Dec. 11.
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Farmers struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic can share an additional $14 billion in aid, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced last week.
Sign-ups for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program are underway through Dec. 11.
The USDA will use funds being made available from the CARES Act and the Commodity Credit Corp. Charter Act. Payments will support row crops, specialty crops, livestock, dairy, aquaculture and commodities.
Payments are limited to $250,000 per person or entity for all commodities combined. Corporations, limited liability companies and limited partnerships may qualify for additional payment limits when members actively provide personal labor or personal management for the farming operation. This limitation has been expanded to include trusts and estates.
Producers also will have to certify that 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. They also must be in compliance with Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation provisions.
Producers can apply at county Farm Service Agency offices. Alamance County’s is at 209 N. Graham-Hopedale Road, Burlington, 336-228-1753. The USDA recommends that customers call 877-508-8364 first to speak with a USDA employee.
Eligibility forms can be downloaded from farmers.gov/cfap/apply. Additional documentation may be requested. Current FSA customers may already have documents on file.
Payments will support three categories of commodities:
• Price trigger commodities, major commodities that meet a minimum 5 percent price decline over a specified period of time. Eligible commodities include barley, corn, sorghum, soybeans, sunflowers, upland cotton, and all classes of wheat, broilers and eggs, dairy, beef cattle, hogs and pigs, and lambs and sheep.
• Flat-rate crops either don’t meet the 5 percent price decline trigger or don’t have data to calculate a price change. Payments will be $15 per acre based on 2020 acreage. Crops include alfalfa, extra long staple cotton, oats, peanuts, rice, hemp, millet, mustard, safflower, sesame, triticale and rapeseed.
• Sales commodities include specialty crops, aquaculture, nursery crops and floriculture, and other commodities not in the price trigger and flat-rate categories, such as tobacco, goat milk, mink (including pelts), mohair, wool, and other livestock (excluding breeding stock) grown for food, fiber, fur or feathers.
For a complete list of eligible commodities, payment rates and calculations, visit farmers.gov/cfap.
This article originally appeared on Times-News: More pandemic relief is available for farmers