Direct Assistance to Farmers through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP)
Deadline to apply is August 28, 2020
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.
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. Hard red winter wheat and soft red winter wheat are currently ineligible for CFAP. Producers will be paid based on inventory subject to price risk on hand 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 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. 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. For eligible specialty crops, the total payment will be based on the volume of production sold between January 15 and April 15, 2020. A full list of eligible crops can be found on farmers.gov/cfap.
All production, sales, and inventory of eligible commodities and livestock must be subject to price risk as of January 15, 2020. Unpriced inventory or production subject to price risk means any production, sales, and inventory that is not subject to an agreed-upon price in the future through a forward contract, agreement, or similar binding document. The producer’s eligible commodity and/or livestock must still be at risk of price fluctuations after January 15, 2020 to be eligible for the payment. Producers can apply for assistance now.
Applications will be accepted through August 28, 2020. The Bates County FSA office is open for business by phone appointment only. While program delivery staff will continue to come into the office, they will be working with producers by phone and using online tools whenever possible.
More information, the CFAP application and eligibility forms, please visit farmers.gov/cfap. For questions please contact the Bates County office at 660-679-6112
