Pacific Nut Producer Magazine

Tag: Sonny Perdue

  • USDA Announces Feeding Program Partnership in Response to COVID-19

    U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced a collaboration with the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, McLane Global, PepsiCo, and others to deliver nearly 1,000,000 meals to students in a limited number of rural schools closed due to COVID-19: 
     
    “Feeding children who are affected by school closures is a top priority for President Trump and this Administration. USDA is working with private sector partners to deliver boxes of food to children in rural America who are affected by school closures,” said Secretary Perdue. “Right now, USDA and local providers are utilizing a range of innovative feeding programs to ensure children are practicing social distancing but are still receiving healthy and nutritious food. This whole of America approach to tackling the coronavirus leverages private sector ingenuity with the exact same federal financing as the Summer Food Service Program. USDA has already taken swift action to ensure children are fed in the event of school closures, and we continue to waive restrictions and expand flexibilities across our programs.” 
     
    “We are grateful to come alongside USDA, PepsiCo, and McLane Global to ensure that children impacted by school closures get access to nutritious food regardless of where they live. We know from first-hand experience that families with children who live in rural communities across the U.S. are often unable to access the existing food sites. Meal delivery is critical for children in rural America to have consistent access to food when school is out. This is one way we, as citizens of this great nation, can respond to our neighbors in need,” said Jeremy Everett, Executive Director, Baylor University Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty. 
     
    “McLane Global was proud to take part in the success of the summer Meals-2-You home delivery pilot program in 2019. It was a great opportunity to bring private industry best practices together with the USDA to combat rural hunger. Given the rapid disruptions driven by COVID-19, we can work together to swiftly take this model nationwide. McLane Global is ready to do its part to support the fight against hunger through this crisis,” said Denton McLane, Chairman, McLane Global. 
     
    “As schools around the country close, millions of schoolchildren now don’t know where their next meal is coming from. In the face of this unprecedented crisis, it’s critical that the private sector help ensure these students have access to nutritious meals,” said Jon Banner, Executive Vice President, PepsiCo Global Communications and President, PepsiCo Foundation. “PepsiCo is committing $1 million to help Baylor create a solution with USDA to identify children most in need and then we will help reach them with at least 200,000 meals per week—one way we are deploying our food and beverage resources to help those most vulnerable.” 
     
    Background:

    USDA will utilize best practices learned through a summer pilot program in 2019 to deliver food boxes to children affected by school closures due to COVID-19 in rural America. Baylor will coordinate with the appropriate state officials to prioritize students who do not currently have access to a Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) site and have an active outbreak of COVID-19. Initial capacity is limited, and additional vendors are requested and encouraged to ensure we can provide food to more rural children as additional schools close. USDA has created a single contact for those who have suggestions, ideas, or want to help feed kids across the country. Email FeedingKids@usda.gov.  
     
    The Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty, McLane Global, and PepsiCo will begin distributing next week and will quickly increase capacity of nearly 1,000,000 nutritious meals per week. In addition to distribution, PepsiCo will generously provide $1 million in funding to the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty to facilitate nationwide distribution in the coming weeks. These boxes will contain five days worth of shelf-stable, nutritious, individually packaged foods that meet USDA’s summer food requirements. The use of this innovative delivery system will ensure rural children receive nutritious food while limiting exposure to COVID-19. USDA will reimburse private sector partners for the same rate as an SFSP site.
     
    Last week, Secretary Perdue announced proactive flexibilities to allow meal service during school closures to minimize potential exposure to the coronavirus. During an unexpected school closure, schools can leverage their participation in one of USDA’s summer meal programs to provide meals at no cost to students. Under normal circumstances, those meals must be served in a group setting. However, in a public health emergency, the law allows USDA the authority to waive the group setting meal requirement, which is vital during a social distancing situation. 
     
    USDA intends to use all available program flexibilities and contingencies to serve our program participants across our 15 nutrition programs. We have already begun to issue waivers to ease program operations and protect the health of participants. USDA is receiving requests for waivers on an ongoing basis. As of today, USDA has been asked to waive congregate feeding requirements in in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico and USDA has granted those requests.

  • Almond Industry Receives $6,900,690 in USDA Funding

    USDA Awards Agricultural Trade Promotion Program Funding

    U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced today that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded $200 million to 57 organizations through the Agricultural Trade Promotion Program (ATP) to help U.S. farmers and ranchers identify and access new export markets. The ATP is one of three USDA programs created to mitigate the effects of unjustified trade retaliation against U.S. farmers and exporters. USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) accepted ATP applications between September 4 and November 2 – totaling nearly $600 million – from U.S. trade associations, cooperatives, and other industry-affiliated organizations. The Almond Board of California will receive $3,185,690 and Blue Diamond will receive $3,715,000.

    President Donald J. Trump authorized up to $12 billion in programs to provide assistance to U.S. agriculture through a trade mitigation package announced by Secretary Perdue on September 4, 2018. In addition to the $200 million allocated to the ATP, the package also included the Market Facilitation Program to provide payments to farmers harmed by retaliatory tariffs, and a food purchase and distribution program to assist producers of targeted commodities.

    “At USDA, we are always looking to expand existing markets or open new ones, so we are proud to make good on the third leg of the President’s promise to America’s farmers,” said Secretary Perdue. “This infusion will help us develop other markets and move us away from being dependent on one large customer for our agricultural products. This is seed money, leveraged by hundreds of millions of dollars from the private sector, that will help to increase our agricultural exports.”

    All sectors of U.S. agriculture, including fish and forest product producers, were eligible to apply for cost-share assistance under the ATP. FAS evaluated applications according to criteria that included the potential for export growth in the target market, direct injury from the imposed retaliatory tariffs, and the likelihood that the proposed project or activity will have a near-term impact on agricultural exports.

    “We were pleased to see the large demand for participation in the program, and truly got some out-of-the-box ideas that we are hopeful will expand our global footprint,” Perdue said. “We examined all applications carefully, considered our ranking criteria, and awarded the funds in order to make the best use of taxpayer dollars in growing agricultural trade.”

    The Almond Alliance of California plans to continue to advocate for the $63.3 M in retaliatory trade damages assigned to the almond industry by USDA.  We will keep you updated on our advocacy efforts and how you can be supportive.

  • USDA to Reopen FSA Offices for Limited Services During Gov’t Shutdown

    USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue

    U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue today announced that many Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices will reopen temporarily in the coming days to perform certain limited services for farmers and ranchers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has recalled about 2,500 FSA employees to open offices on Thursday, January 17 and Friday, January 18, in addition to Tuesday, January 22, during normal business hours. The offices will be closed for the federal Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday on Monday, January 21.

    In almost half of FSA locations, FSA staff will be available to assist agricultural producers with existing farm loans and to ensure the agency provides 1099 tax documents to borrowers by the Internal Revenue Service’s deadline.

    “Until Congress sends President Trump an appropriations bill in the form that he will sign, we are doing our best to minimize the impact of the partial federal funding lapse on America’s agricultural producers,” Perdue said.  “We are bringing back part of our FSA team to help producers with existing farm loans.  Meanwhile, we continue to examine our legal authorities to ensure we are providing services to our customers to the greatest extent possible during the shutdown.”

    Staff members will be available at certain FSA offices to help producers with specific services, including:

    • Processing payments made on or before December 31, 2018.
    • Continuing expiring financing statements.
    • Opening mail to identify priority items.

    Additionally, as an intermittent incidental duty, staff may release proceeds from the sale of loan security by signing checks jointly payable to FSA that are brought to the county office by producers.

    Information on the locations of FSA offices to be open during this three-day window will be posted:

    While staff are available in person during this three-day window, most available services can be handled over the phone. Producers can begin contacting staff on January 17 here.

    Additionally, farmers who have loan deadlines during the lapse in funding do not need to make payments until the government shutdown ends.

    Other FSA Programs & Services

    Reopened FSA offices will only be able to provide the specifically identified services while open during this limited time. Services that will not be available include, but are not limited to:

    • New direct or facility loans.
    • New Farm loan guarantees.
    • New marketing assistance loans.
    • New applications for Market Facilitation Program (MFP).
    • Certification of 2018 production for MFP payments.
    • Dairy Margin Protection Program.
    • Disaster assistance programs, such as:
      • Livestock Indemnity Program.
      • Emergency Conservation Program.
      • Wildfires and Hurricanes Indemnity Program.
      • Livestock Forage Disaster Program.
      • Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-Raised Fish.

    While January 15, 2019 had been the original deadline for producers to apply for MFP, farmers have been unable to apply since December 28, 2018, when FSA offices closed because of the lapse in federal funding.  Secretary Perdue has extended the MFP application deadline for a period of time equal to the number of business days FSA offices end up being closed, once the government shutdown ends. These announced days of limited staff availability during the shutdown will not constitute days open in calculating the extension. Producers who already applied for MFP and certified their 2018 production by December 28, 2018 should have already received their payments.

    More information on MFP is available at www.farmers.gov/manage/mfp.

  • US Trade Mitigation Package Direct Payments for Almonds

    The Almond Alliance of California appreciates the efforts by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to establish the procedures required to provide direct payments to almond growers to help offset some of the damage being incurred due to the retaliatory tariffs imposed by China and Turkey. As announced today by Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, growers of California almonds are now eligible to apply for direct payments of $.03 per pound as part of the $12 billion mitigation package announced earlier this month. The damage assessment figure assigned to almonds is $63.3 million.
    The announcement is a result of the industry coming together and advocating through the Almond Alliance of California (AAC). Elaine Trevino, President/CEO of AAC said “Industry members should be proud that through a unified effort they were able to have their voices heard and be acknowledged for their contribution to the national economy, along with the significant role they play in the international market place.”
    The almond industry has been significantly impacted by retaliatory tariffs and the inclusion of the commodity in the USDA trade mitigation package is a result of a vocal industry and the support and hard work of California’s congressional delegation. Trevino noted, “The direct payment program reflects the hard work of Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Chairman Jeff Denham who led the congressional effort including Congressmen Costa, Valadao, Nunes, LaMalfa, Pannetta and Senators Harris and Feinstein. Their combined efforts and leadership helped ensure that the California almond industry received direct payments within the specific program guidelines. We are thankful that our congressional delegation worked hard for our industry and acknowledged the importance of almonds to the California and U.S. economy.”
    Producers of almonds can sign up for the Market Facilitation Program (MFP), which is a direct payment program for eligible almond growers who have been directly impacted by retaliatory tariffs, resulting in significant export losses. The MFP is established under the statutory authority of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Charter Act and is under the administration of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA). There are specific eligibility requirements that must be met by an applicant and the maximum payment per applicant is $125,000. Eligible almond growers may apply for MFP September 24, 2018 through January 15, 2019.
    Almonds are one of California’s top three valued commodities and the leading agricultural export.  The California almond industry exports 67% of what it produces.  With exports of nearly $4.5 billion in 2017, the California almond industry contributes significantly to the longstanding trade surplus generated by American agriculture. While the mitigation initiatives are helpful, they will not begin to approach the anticipated economic losses and long-term impact these retaliatory tariffs will have on the industry’s trade relationships and the considerable investments made over the years to create market demand in China and Turkey. Trevino pointed out, “We remain hopeful for a quick resolution to the broader trade disputes with these trading partners to ensure open and fair trade so consumers around the globe can continue to enjoy California almonds.”
    For more Information:
    For more information about the MFP program, visit www.farmers.gov/MFP or contact your local FSA office. To find your local FSA office, visit www.farmers.gov.
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    About the Almond Alliance of California
    The Almond Alliance of California (AAC) is a trusted non-profit organization with a mission of advocating on behalf of the Almond industry in California. AAC actively advocates for the positions of almond growers, hullers, shellers, handers and processors, while educating the industry about upcoming and existing regulatory changes.  Through workshops, newsletters, conferences and meetings, AAC serves as a clearing house of information that informs the almond industry and continues to position the industry as an agricultural leader in the state.