Update on Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP 2) and Future Assistance

The United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced additions and amendments to the second round of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP 2) on January 15, 2021 to include contract livestock growers (poultry/hogs/etc.) and turfgrass producers and update certain payment rates of sales and row crop commodities.

Through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, Congress gave the direct authority to USDA to allow contract growers, such as poultry, into the program using funds from the CARES Act. These payments are based on eligible revenue for January 1, 2020, through December 27, 2020, minus eligible revenue for January 1, 2019, through December 27, 2019, multiplied by up to 80%, subject to availability of funds. Current rules would require a contract poultry producer to provide a contract between them and their integrator as proof of production. LFBF is working with AFBF to amend these documentation requirements to allow for more flexibility, such as settlement sheets or other documentation, in the instance a contract grower does not possess their contract.

Farm Service Agency (FSA) also adjusted the payment calculation to use the 2019 calendar year sales and 2019 crop insurance indemnities, Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) and Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity-Plus payments (WHIP+), multiplied by the applicable payment rate for sales commodities. In the CFAP2 program, the sales commodities included specialty crops, aquaculture, tobacco, specialty livestock, nursery crops and floriculture.

FSA also adjusted the CFAP2 payment calculation for certain row crops, addressing an issue that existed for producers who had crop insurance coverage but did not have a 2020 Actual Production History-approved yield. Now, when APH is not available, FSA will use 100% of the 2019 Agriculture Risk Coverage-County benchmark yield to calculate payments instead of the 85% the earlier CFAP2 calculations required. This change only covers producers with crop insurance coverage who grow barley, corn, sorghum, soybeans, sunflowers, upland cotton and wheat. These adjustments for both sales commodities and row crops would require a modification to the already submitted CFAP 2 application through your local FSA office.

Swine producers who participated in CFAP1 will be receiving an automatic “top-up” payment of $17 per head, increasing the total CFAP1 inventory payment to $34 per head. Payment rates for swine are increasing from 25% to 50% of the estimated total economic loss.

Beyond these changes to CFAP 2, the Consolidated Appropriations Act also authorized new appropriations for additional assistance to price-trigger, flat rate, and sales commodities. While not officially titled yet, many are referring to this future assistance as “CFAP 3.” In statute, the bill directs USDA to send direct assistance to price-trigger and flat rate crops at $20/acre. We also understand from the text of the bill that additional assistance will be coming for sales commodities with the potential flexibility to use 2018’s revenue in your payment rate, as opposed to strictly using 2019 as was in CFAP 2. Due to the change in administration, USDA has NOT released official rules regarding this new appropriation. LFBF will provide further information upon release of USDA rules and distribution measures of this new $11+ billion.

As this memo is being written, there is also a “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review” directed from the White House causing USDA to suspend the processing and payments under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program - Additional Assistance and has halted implementation until further notice. FSA local offices will continue to accept applications during the evaluation period. USDA’s website currently states: “In the coming days, USDA and the Biden Administration intend to take additional steps to bring relief and support to all parts of food and agriculture during the coronavirus pandemic, including ensuring producers have access to the capital, risk management tools, disaster assistance, and other federal resources.”

The Farm Service Agency continues to operate under COVID-19 related protocols and encourages you to call your local office to handle your application needs. Please continue to remain patient with FSA offices as they, too, are navigating the COVID-19 protocols and a change in leadership at the top levels of the agency.

If you have questions about these programs, first contact your local FSA office or visit https://www.farmers.gov/cfap. However, if you would like more details from the information provided here, feel free to contact Andy Brown, Assistant Commodity Coordinator with LFBF at (225) 480-8842, or any member of the LFBF Commodity Department.