text: The Farmer's Exchange Online USDA to Provide $6 Billion in Assistance to Farmers
  USDA to Provide $6 Billion in Assistance to Farmers
  Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack last week announced that USDA is establishing new programs and efforts to bring financial assistance to farmers, ranchers and producers who felt the impact of COVID-19 market disruptions. The new initiative—USDA Pandemic Assistance for Producers—will reach a broader set of producers than in previous COVID-19 aid programs. USDA is dedicating at least $6 billion toward the new programs.
  The department will also develop rules for new programs that will put a greater emphasis on outreach to small and socially disadvantaged producers, specialty crop and organic producers, timber harvesters, as well as provide support for the food supply chain and producers of renewable fuel, among others. Existing programs like the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) will fall within the new initiative and, where statutory authority allows, will be refined to better address the needs of producers.
  The payments will go out under the existing CFAP rules; however, future opportunities for USDA pandemic assistance will be reviewed for verified need and during the rulemaking process, USDA will look to make eligibility more consistent with the farm bill.
  Moving forward, USDA pandemic assistance for producers will utilize existing programs, such as the Local Agricultural Marketing Program, Farming Opportunities Training and Outreach, and Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, and others to enhance educational and market opportunities for agricultural producers.
  There are four parts to the USDA pandemic assistance.
  Part 1: USDA will dedicate at least $6 billion to develop a number of new programs or modify existing proposals using discretionary funding from the Consolidated Appropriations Act and other coronavirus funding that went unspent by the previous administration. Where rulemaking is required, it will commence this spring. These efforts will include assistance for:
  Other possible expansion and corrections to CFAP that were not part of today's announcement such as to support dairy or other livestock producers;
  Part 2: USDA expects to begin investing approximately $500 million in expedited assistance through several existing programs this spring, with most by April 30. This new assistance includes:
  $100 million in additional funding for the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, administered by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), which enhances the competitiveness of fruits, vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture and nursery crops.
  Part 3: The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, enacted December 2020 requires FSA to make certain payments to producers according to a mandated formula. USDA is now expediting these provisions because there is no discretion involved in interpreting such directives; they are self-enacting.
  A formula correction for row-crop producer applications to allow producers with a non-Actual Production History (APH) insurance policy to use 100 percent of the 2019 Agriculture Risk Coverage-County Option (ARC-CO) benchmark yield in the calculation;
  Part 4: As noted above, USDA will re-open sign-up for of CFAP 2 for at least 60 days beginning on April 5.