Farm groups ask U.S. for more time to apply for COVID-19 aid
By Tom Polansek and Christopher Walljasper, Successful Farming
CHICAGO - Twenty-eight U.S. farm groups asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday to extend the deadline for farmers to apply for coronavirus assistance payments and try harder to reach more growers hurt by the pandemic.
The American Farm Bureau Federation, with organizations representing producers of goods ranging from apples to cotton and cattle, said in a letter that USDA's Aug. 28 deadline may prevent farmers from participating in the $16 billion aid program.
Farmers and ranchers have struggled to sell their goods because of disruptions caused by the pandemic, forcing some to throw out food, euthanize livestock and turn to the government for help.
"We strongly encourage you to increase producer and stakeholder engagement initiatives," the groups told U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue.
The USDA paid out $6.8 billion in the program as of Aug. 3, with cattle, milk and corn producers the biggest recipients.
Participation rates are "egregiously low" among producers of fruits and vegetables, the letter said.
The USDA established the program quickly to help farmers, but it was not set up for many specialty-crop growers, according to produce industry sources.
"The (apple) industry was really disheartened," said Brenda Briggs, vice president of sales at Rice Fruit company in Gardners, Pennsylvania. "We didn’t think the growers were going to get payments."