If a recent announcement has you confused about sign up for the CFAP 2.1 funding, the announcement of a freeze did not cancel the program. As such, signups are continuing.
The Biden administration issued a regulatory freeze to review federal programs, and that does include the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 2.1 for farmers. But, American Farm Bureau Federation Economist Michael Nepveux says farmers can and should sign up for the program now.
“Yes, they can, and we highly encourage them to do so,” he explained. “There’s been some conversation around potentially the program being canceled, that is not the case, it’s just a temporary freeze. This is pretty common when you get a new administration coming in and once they get all their people in place we highly expect the program to be moving forward. So, with this, we still encourage farmers to apply, they are still accepting applications, they just aren’t processing payments at this point.”
He explains the latest round of assistance was expanded to include contract growers, so they are eligible now when they previously were not.
“Many producers were left out of the CARES Act and original CFAP programs because farmers who raise animals under a contract for another entity that owns those animals could not participate. In this recent announcement, USDA clarified that contract producers of broilers, turkeys, chicken eggs, laying hens and hogs, who suffered a drop in revenue in 2020 due to the pandemic are now eligible for assistance.”
Nepveux says the deadline to apply is approaching quickly.
“Newly eligible producers who need to submit a CFAP application, or producers who need to modify an existing one, have to do so by February 26. They can do that at their local USDA service center.”
Additional information is also available at USDA’s CFAP website.