We are pleased to introduce Aubrey Bettencourt as the new President/CEO of the Almond Alliance of California. Watch this brief interview with Aubrey to learn more about how she has been prepared for this position and her plans to serve the California almond industry.
Please thank this video’s sponsor Suterra for their industry support.
Agricultural producers can now apply for USDA’s Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), which provides direct payments to offset impacts from the coronavirus pandemic. The application and a payment calculator are now available online, and USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) staff members are available via phone, fax and online tools to help producers complete applications. The agency set up a call center in order to simplify how they serve new customers across the nation.
“We know California producers are facing a tough time now, and we are making every effort to provide much needed support as quickly as possible,” said Connie Conway, state executive director for FSA in California. “FSA is available over the phone and virtually to walk you through the application process, whether it’s the first time you’ve worked with FSA, or if you know us quite well.”
Applications will be accepted through August 28, 2020. Through CFAP, USDA is making available $16 billion for vital financial assistance to producers of agricultural commodities who have suffered a five-percent-or-greater price decline due to COVID-19 and face additional significant marketing costs as a result of lower demand, surplus production, and disruptions to shipping patterns and the orderly marketing of commodities.
“We also want to remind producers that the program is structured to ensure the availability of funding for all eligible producers who apply,” Conway said.
In order to do this, producers will receive 80 percent of their maximum total payment upon approval of the application. The remaining portion of the payment, not to exceed the payment limit, will be paid at a later date nationwide, as funds remain available.
Producers can download the CFAP application and other eligibility forms from farmers.gov/cfap. Also, on that webpage, producers can find a payment calculator to help identify sales and inventory records needed to apply and calculate potential payments.
Additionally, producers in search of one-on-one support with the CFAP application process can call 877-508-8364 to speak directly with a USDA employee ready to offer assistance. This is a good first step before a producer engages the team at the FSA county office at their local USDA Service Center.
Applying for Assistance
Producers of all eligible commodities will apply through their local FSA office. Those who use the online calculator tool will be able to print off a pre-filled CFAP application, sign, and submit to your local FSA office either electronically or via hand delivery. Please contact your local office to determine the preferred method. Find contact information for your local office at farmers.gov/cfap.
Documentation to support the producer’s application and certification may be requested after the application is filed. FSA has streamlined the signup process to not require an acreage report at the time of application and a USDA farm number may not be immediately needed.
Additional Commodities
USDA is also establishing a process for the public to identify additional commodities for potential inclusion in CFAP. Specifically, USDA is looking for data on agricultural commodities, that are not currently eligible for CFAP, that the public believes to have either:
More information about this process is available on farmers.gov/cfap.
More Information
To find the latest information on CFAP, visit farmers.gov/cfap or call 877-508-8364.
USDA Service Centers are open for business by phone appointment only, and field work will continue with appropriate social distancing. While program delivery staff will continue to come into the office, they will be working with producers by phone and using online tools whenever possible. All Service Center visitors wishing to conduct business with the FSA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, or any other Service Center agency are required to call their Service Center to schedule a phone appointment. More information can be found at farmers.gov/coronavirus.
From floods to drought, fire to hurricanes, NRCS provides disaster recovery assistance to farmers, ranchers and landowners through a variety of USDA programs. Watch this brief interview with Brooke Pippi to find out how NRCS can support you.
Please thank our sponsor Duarte Nursery for their industry support and see them at their booth at Unified Wine & Grape Symposium in Sacramento, February 4-6 (Booth P1842).
Whether you’ve experienced wildfire damage on the farm or other disasters, disease outbreaks on your trees and vines — the USDA-Farm Service Agency has a program to support you. Watch this brief interview with Farm Service Agency California representative Lisa Velasquez as she explains some of these programs to get involved in.
Please thank our sponsor Duarte Nursery for their industry support and see them at their booth at Unified Wine & Grape Symposium in Sacramento, February 4-6 (Booth P1842).
USDA extended the deadline to May 17 from May 1 for agricultural producers to certify 2018 crop production for payments through the Market Facilitation Program (MFP), which helps producers who have been significantly affected by foreign tariffs, resulting in the loss of traditional exports. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) extended the deadline because heavy rainfall and snowfall have delayed harvests in many parts of the country, preventing producers from certifying harvested production.
Payments will be issued only if eligible producers certify before the updated May 17 deadline.
The MFP provides payments to producers of corn, cotton, sorghum, soybeans, wheat, dairy, hogs, fresh sweet cherries and shelled almonds. FSA will issue payments based on the producer’s certified total production of the MFP commodity multiplied by the MFP rate for that specific commodity.
“Trade issues, coupled with low commodity prices and recovery from natural disasters, have definitely impacted the bottom line for many agricultural producers,” said FSA Administrator Richard Fordyce. “The MFP payments provide short-term relief from retaliatory tariffs to supplement the traditional farm safety net, helping agricultural producers through these difficult times. Weather conditions this fall, winter and early spring have blocked many producers from completing harvest of their crops, and we want to make sure producers who want to finalize their MFP application have an opportunity.”
Producers can certify production by contacting their local FSA office or through farmers.gov.
About the Market Facilitation Program
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue launched the trade mitigation program to assist farmers suffering from damage because of unjustified trade retaliation by foreign nations. FSA implemented MFP in September 2018 as a relief strategy to protect agricultural producers while the Administration works on free, fair and reciprocal trade deals to open more markets to help American farmers compete globally. To date, more than $8.3 billion has been paid to nearly 600,000 applicants.
The MFP is established under the statutory authority of the Commodity Credit Corporation Charter Act and is administered by FSA.
More Information
For more information, contact your local FSA office or visit www.farmers.gov/MFP.
California Farm Service Agency Stands Ready to Assist Agricultural Producers Slammed by Recent Heavy Rains
California Farm Service Agency (FSA) reminds farmers and ranchers across the state of federal farm program benefits that may be available to help eligible producers recover from recent heavy rains and flooding.
FSA offers disaster assistance and low-interest loan programs to assist agricultural producers in their recovery efforts following floods or similar qualifying natural disasters. Available programs and loans include:
ELAP also covers up to 150 lost grazing days in instances when a producer has been forced to remove livestock from a grazing pasture due to floodwaters. For beekeepers, ELAP covers beehive losses (the physical structure) in instances where the hive has been destroyed by a natural disaster including flooding, high winds and tornadoes.
To establish or retain FSA program eligibility, farmers and ranchers must report prevented planting and failed acres (crops and grasses). Prevented planting acreage must be reported on form FSA-576, Notice of Loss, no later than 15 calendar days after the final planting date as established by FSA and Risk Management Agency (RMA).
For more information on disaster assistance programs and loans visit www.fsa.usda.gov/ or contact your local FSA Office. To find your local FSA county office, visit http://offices.usda.gov.
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:
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:
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.
On May 31, the United States Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency (USDA-FSA) State Committee approved pistachio Bushy Top Syndrome as a natural disaster, thereby allowing pistachios to be included in USDA’s Tree Assistance Program (TAP).
This means that eligible growers affected by the Bushy Top Syndrome could receive government assistance for the replacement of their affected trees. The program will be implemented in Fall of 2018 and will be retroactive to 2012.
Growers from all states affected by Bushy Top Syndrome will be allowed to participate. Like a number of other Federal programs, TAP participation has a number of restrictions, including participation limited to entities with adjusted gross income below the federal cap of $900,000; and cost reimbursement only for the removal and replanting costs of the affected trees, not for the trees themselves.
American Pistachio Growers (APG) has been diligently working on this issue for over a year attempting to qualify pistachios for this Federal program. We will keep you updated as more details are released. This is a significant victory for our industry and it was accomplished through the perseverance of APG and our ongoing federal lobbying effort.
