Texas farmers join others in the agricultural community in appreciation for President Trump and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announcing the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) $14 billion expansion of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) last week. The program expansion (CFAP 2) provides much needed financial support to farm families hard-hit by the ongoing impact of the global pandemic.
“This year, Texas farmers have faced a litany of uncertainty and trial from hurricanes, drought and volatile trade markets – the global pandemic and its fallout are another blow to a precarious farm economy,” David Gibson, the Texas Corn Producers (TCP) executive director, said. “America’s farmers are facing the toughest economic times experienced in decades. The CFAP 2 support offers crucial financial support to keep the family farm in business.”
The most recent farm income projections from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecasts this year’s cash receipts to be at the lowest level in more than a decade. This is mounted on rising levels of farm debt and decreased working capital. Gibson said CFAP 2 is particularly key to aiding producers through the pandemic to ensure farmers have the ability to produce enough to keep grocery shelves stocked across the country.
Corn acres planted in 2020 are an eligible crop for the program as a row crop price triggered commodities. There is an online payment calculator used to determine the amount of assistance for an individual’s crop.
TCP encourages Texas farmers to educate themselves on the CFAP 2 program and determine how it may assist their farm by visiting the CFAP 2 website: http://farmers.gov/cfap. Farmers should apply for the program through the USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) office by Dec. 11, 2020. The application process can be completed through FSA’s online portal, via a physical manual application, with the online payment calculator, or by working directly with the local FSA office.
Further details and resources are available on the USDA’s CFAP 2 website at https://www.farmers.gov/cfap.