USDA Announces New Payment Structure for Second Round of CFAP Program

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Written by Noah Lakritz on Lunes, Septiembre 28, 2020

The USDA announced a second round of funding for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP). CFAP 2 will provide $14 billion in additional direct payments to farmers and ranchers. This new round of includes substantive changes from the first round, some of which may benefit organic producers:

  • Compensation for losses experienced from April 1, 2020 to August 31, 2020 (or from April 16 for livestock)
  • Additional price loss based payments for commodity crops covered by the first round of CFAP
  • A new fixed $15/acre payment for many grains, oilseed, and hemp crops that were not previously eligible

Crucially, the new program also includes a revenue-based payment structure for specialty crops and other producers. This change may benefit organic farmers that did not benefit from the first round of funding due to low payment rates or the exclusion of their commodities from payment.

To apply for the new CFAP Program, visit the CFAP website: https://www.farmers.gov/cfap/apply.

For a more detailed analysis of the new program, read this blog post from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition: https://sustainableagriculture.net/blog/cfap2-signup/.

CCOF is still analyzing the new program and its potential to benefit our members. Look out for subsequent blog posts in our newsletter.

To contact the policy team about the new program, email nlakritz@ccof.org or call (831) 346-6223.