The U.S. Department of Agriculture reminds vegetable and specialty crop producers who wish to apply to the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) 2 that the deadline is Friday, Dec. 11.
This program provides relief to farmers facing market disruptions and associated costs due to COVID-19.
It is a program that Adam Rabinowitz, Assistant Professor and Extension Economist at Auburn University, encourages all eligible farmers to take advantage of.
“CFAP 2 covers a wide range of fruit and vegetables and specialty crops. It’s much broader coverage that’s typical from other government programs. For those that have experienced any type of marketing and production effects as a result of COVID-19, this is an excellent opportunity based on sales, just comparison sales. It’s a self-certification process, so there’s very little paperwork. It’s very easy access to be able to get these funds to assist with covering those losses,” Rabinowitz said.
“It covers such a broad range of specialty crops, well over 200 different specialty crops. I think all fruit and vegetable producers really need to look at this and make sure they get to their FSA office and sign up for this program.”
For More Information
Producers can find eligible commodities, payment rates, calculations and options to apply on farmers.gov/cfap.
CFAP 2 is a separate program from the first iteration of CFAP, now referred to as CFAP 1. Participating in CFAP 1 is not a prerequisite for participating in CFAP 2. Additionally, producers who applied for CFAP 1 will not be automatically enrolled in CFAP 2. They must complete a new application to be eligible for assistance.