Farmers Guide to COVID-19 Relief and More
Farmers’ Legal Action Group published a comprehensive Farmers’Guide to COVID-19 Relief. The guide provides information on financial assistance programs and provisions within the CARES Act and other emerging policies as they relate to agricultural producers. The Food and Beverage Law Clinic at the Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University also recently published a Chart of COVID-19 Federal Legislation and Federal Agency Relief Helpful to Farmers (English, Spanish), as well as an FAQ on Funding Programs Available to Small and Mid-Size Farms in Response to COVID-19 (English, Spanish) – particularly helpful for prospective applicants to SBA loan programs, including the Economic Injury Disaster Loans for which farmers are now eligible. READ MORE
$3 Billion in Coronavirus Response Funds Available to Food Hubs and Distributors to Provide Fresh Food Boxes to Those in Need
Last week, Secretary of Agriculture Perdue announced the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), through which $23.5 billion will be distributed in aid to farmers. Many details about this new program are still unknown. We will continue to update this post as more information becomes available. We know that the Agricultural Marketing Service will administer a $3 billion component of CFAP through a new “Food Box Program,” and the Request for Proposals (RFP) will be published at some point today (April 24, 2020). Local and regional distributors and food hubs interested in participating should visit this page to view the RFP when it’s published. Proposals must be submitted by May 1, 2020. Read our post for more details on resources and next steps to apply for the program, and to stay abreast of the latest details. READ MORE
The National Institute of Food and Agriculture announced a new research program to investigate and find solutions to alleviate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on U.S. agriculture. The new Rapid Response to Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) Impacts Across Food and Agricultural Systems is soliciting project proposals through June 4, 2020. Funding for this new research priority comes from the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative’s. The program will address four main research areas: (1) Health and Security of Livestock; (2) Food and Food Processing; (3) Well-being of Farm, Food Service Providers, and Rural Americans; and (4) Economic Security. READ MORE
NSAC issued this comment last Friday in response to the late evening initial announcement from USDA on its plans for disbursing direct aid for agricultural producers from the CARES Act. “The Secretary’s plan for direct farm aid as outlined tonight lacks critical details to confirm whether it will actually reach all who need it,” said NSAC Policy Director Eric Deeble. “There can be no justification for providing so little for the farmers that provide our families real food grown for them in their own communities, while simultaneously doubling payment limits for commodity growers and excluding safeguards that would prevent payments to millionaires.” READ MORE
This blog post is meant to help readers cut through the chaos and keep track of the deadlines that matter to food and farm businesses and organizations. NSAC has put together a summary of currently active Request for Applications (RFA) as part of our ongoing efforts to help farmers and advocates stay up to date with federal policy and funding opportunities. In response to the coronavirus pandemic, several deadlines have been extended. This post has been updated to reflect extended deadlines, additional programs with active RFAs, and information on administrative flexibilities. READ MORE
- Learn more about loans, grants, and other funding resources at https://www.beginningfarmers.org/funding-resources/
- Get more information about Farm Policy and Agricultural Politics at https://www.beginningfarmers.org/farm-policy-agricultural-politics/
- Find more useful farming resources at https://www.beginningfarmers.org/additional-farming-resources/
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