Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) enrollment

Contributed by Steve Johnson, retired Extension Farm Management Field Specialist

Steven Johnson

The USDA announced the producer signup for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) allocated by Congress through the CARES Act that will begin on Tuesday, May 26, 2020. That enrollment will be through your local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office with additional CFAP details and the enrollment process at https://www.farmers.gov/cfap.

The $16 billion available for CFAP includes direct relief for farmers, with $9.6 billion for the livestock industry ($5.1 billion for cattle, $2.9 billion for dairy, and $1.6 billion for hogs). It has $3.9 billion for row crop producers, $2.1 billion for specialty crop producers, and $500 million for other crops.

USDA officials are urging farmers to begin the paperwork process using an online calculator available once sign-up begins. These payments will be coupled with actual production and based on losses due to price declines and supply chain disruptions from COVID-19. To qualify for a payment, a commodity must have declined in price by at least 5% between January and April 2020.

Producers will be paid based on inventory subject to price risk held as of Jan. 15, 2020. A single payment will be made based on 50% of a producer’s 2019 total production or the 2019 inventory still not sold as of Jan. 15, 2020, whichever is smaller. This amount for each crop will be multiplied by 50% and then multiplied by the commodity’s applicable payment rates featured below:

CFAP Payment Rates by Commodity

CommodityUnit of MeasureCARES Act Payment RateCCC Payment Rate
Cornbushel$0.32$0.35
Soybeansbushel$0.45$0.50
See all non-specialty crop rates.

Producers must provide the following information as a part of their CFAP application:

  • Total 2019 production for the commodity that suffered a 5% or more price decline, and
  • Total 2019 production that wasn’t sold as of Jan. 15, 2020.

This video demonstrates how the new CFAP application form can be downloaded, completed, signed, dated, and then mailed or e-mailed to your local FSA office.

Producers should make an extra copy of this completed CFAP application form for their records. Attach any proof of how you determined the 2019 total production by crop and the 2019 production that was “not sold” as of Jan. 15, 2020.

The CFAP program will be open to all producers, regardless of commodity or size. Some farmers may not have traditionally worked regularly with FSA. Once signup begins, some producers may want to contact their local FSA office to schedule an appointment. In that case, FSA staff will help those producers complete portions of form CCC-902 Farm Operating Plan. Other forms will also be needed to apply for CFAP, although if you’ve dealt with FSA before, it’s likely they already have these on file.

These forms include:

  • CCC-901—Identifies members of a farm that is a legal entity. Member information will be completed by legal entities and joint organizations to collect member names, addresses, tax ID numbers, and citizenship status.
  • CCC-941—Reports your average adjusted gross income for programs where income restrictions apply.
  • CCC-942—This certification reports income from farming, ranching, and forestry for those exceeding the adjusted gross income limitation.
  • AD-1026—Ensures compliance with highly erodible land conservation and wetland conservation.
  • AD-2047—Provides basic customer contact information.
  • SF-3881—Collects your banking information to allow USDA to make payments to you via direct deposit.

More information will be available on the Ag Decision Maker blog as details on CFAP are released.

Ag Decision Maker

An agricultural economics and business website.

An agricultural economics and business website.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Ag Decision Maker text image

Archives