The National Potato Council (NPC) welcomes the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) expansion of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, the group says in a news release on Sept. 17. The expanded program will provide an addition $14 billion in aid for farmers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Given the serious, long-term financial harm felt by many family farmers, we hope the more straight-forward nature of CFAP 2’s sales-based model will remove the hurdles for participation and provide more adequate relief for America’s potato growers,” Britt Raybould, NPC president, says in the release.
According to USDA, for specialty crop growers, including potato growers, CFAP 2’s payment calculations will be based on a sales-based approach, where producers are paid based on five payment gradations associated with their 2019 sales:
| 2019 Sales Range | Percent Payment Factor for the Producer’s 2019 Sales of Eligible Commodities Falling in the Range |
| $0 to $49,999 | 10.6 per cent |
| $50,000 to $99,999 | 9.9 per cent |
| $100,000 to $499,999 | 9.7 per cent |
| $500,000 to $999,999 | 9.0 per cent |
| Sales over $1 million | 8.8 per cent |
Payments are limited to $250,000 per person or entity for all commodities combined. Applicants who are corporations, limited liability companies, limited partnerships may qualify for additional payment limits when members actively provide personal labor or personal management for the farming operation. To complete the CFAP 2 application, producers will need to reference their sales, inventory, and other records. To apply, visit farmers.gov/cfap/apply between Sept. 21 and run through Dec. 11, 2020.
The program replaces the previous CFAP, the release notes.
