FOCUS ON AG
August 31, 2020
CFAP ENROLLMENT DEADLINE IS SEPTEMBER 11
The deadline to enroll in the Caronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) is September 11 at local Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices. The CFAP program is intended to provide direct relief to farmers and ranchers that faced price declines and loss of profitability due to the COVID-19 outbreak earlier this year. Producers that are making CFAP applications now will receive 100 percent of the eligible CFAP payment amount, as compared to 80 percent of the eligible CFAP payment that was paid on approved applications earlier. USDA has announced that the additional 20 percent of the initial CFAP payments will be paid to producers very soon, assuming that they had not exceeded the CFAP payment limits.
The CFAP application process is fairly easy for producers to complete. Producers that are new to FSA programs and services, they will need to supply the FSA office with some additional FSA forms detailing business and personal information, adjusted gross income verification, and conservation compliance. Farmers that have participated in other USDA farm programs likely have already completed necessary FSA program eligibility forms. Once the required FSA forms are completed, producers can complete the CFAP application on-line and then fax or e-mail it to the local FSA office. The CFAP application form (AD-3114), the CFAP calculator, other FSA forms, and other details on CFAP are available at: www.farmers.gov/CFAP
There are over 160 commodities eligible for CFA payments, including non-specialty crops (field crops), livestock, and specialty crops. Following is a summary of the commodities that are eligible for CFA payments:
Field Crops — Corn, soybeans, spring wheat, durum wheat, sorghum, oats, malting
barley, canola, upland cotton, millet, and sunflowers.
Livestock — Cattle, hogs, sheep (including wool), and dairy.
Specialty Crops — Numerous fruits, vegetables, nuts, and other specialty crops are
eligible. For a complete list, go to: www.farmers.gov/CFAP
As August 24, USDA had paid out over $9.2 billion in CFAP payments to producers of various agricultural commodities, which represents approximately 58 percent of the $16 billion in funds that were allocated by USDA earlier this year for CFAP payments. There should be adequate funds to cover all eligible CFAP payments. As of August 24, USDA had approved 557,592 CFAP applications. Following is the breakdown of the total CFAP payment amounts for some of the major commodities (as well as the % of the total payments), as of 8-24-20:
- Beef Cattle — Nearly $4 billion (43.3%)
- Dairy (Milk) — Approx. $1.7 billion (18.4%)
- Hogs — Nearly $574 million (6.2%)
- Corn — Just over $1.63 billion (17.7%)
- Soybeans — Nearly 467 million (5%)
- Cotton — Nearly $238 million (2.5%)
- All Other commodities — Approx. $600 million (6.9%)
The following table shows a breakdown of the total CFAP payments (in millions of dollars) and CFAP payments for field crops, livestock (cattle, hogs & sheep), dairy, and specialty crops in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, North and South Dakota and Wisconsin, including the (average CFAP payment per eligible producer):
CFAP PAYMENTS AS OF 8-24-20
| CFAP
Payments |
MN | IA | NE | ND | SD | WI |
| Total Payments
(Per Producer) |
$573.3 M.
($20,046) |
$921.1 M.
($19,088) |
$633.8 M.
($20,386) |
$252.4 M.
($16,887) |
$449.5 M.
($24,093) |
$503.7 M.
($30,224) |
| Field Crops
(Per Producer)
|
$228.9 M.
($9,387) |
$415.3 M
($9,972) |
$255.5 M.
($11,205) |
$114.9 M.
($9,894) |
$115.2 M.
($9,726) |
$81.8 M.
($6,259) |
| Livestock
(Per Producer
|
$238.6 M.
($18,341) |
$454.9 M.
($20,816) |
$397.1 M.
($22,015) |
$125.5 M.
($15,604) |
$319.0 M.
($22,418) |
$83.9 M.
($6,911) |
| Dairy
(Per Producer
|
$105.4 M.
($43,456) |
$51.3 M.
($53,080) |
$10.4 M.
($80,032) |
$4.5 M.
($67,682) |
$15.3 M.
($90,692) |
$333.3 M.
($57,253) |
| Spec. Crops
(Per Producer
|
$411,418
($24,201) |
$57,359
($4,780) |
762,495
($127,082) |
$7.6 M.
($135,031) |
$725
($362.50) |
$4.7 M.
($90,569) |
The Upper Midwest States listed on the table were some of the highest States in the U.S. for total CFAP payments as of 8-24-20. Iowa had the highest total CFAP payments followed by Nebraska and Minnesota, with Texas and California in fourth and fifth and Wisconsin in sixth. However, the payment per producer was much higher in some other areas of the U.S. due to the mix of crops and livestock and the type of specialty crops that were eligible, as well as the average farm business size. For example, the average payment per producer in California was $69,131, which was considerably higher than the Upper Midwest States.
Future CFAP Payments
There has been some discussion by USDA of issuing additional CFAP payments this Fall, utilizing a portion of the $14 billion that was made available to the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) in July. The negative financial impacts to agricultural producers from COVID-19 has continued well beyond the losses that were incurred earlier in the year. It is not known if a second round of CFAP payments would utilize a similar formula to the first round of payments, or if there would be additional commodities eligible for CFAP payments in the next round of payments. Some questions have been raised about the calculation methodology that was utilized to determine the first round of payments, as well as related to commodities that were not eligible for CFAP payments. There is also potential for additional assistance to agriculture producers in the coronavirus aide package that has been stalled in Congress for several weeks.
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Note — For additional information contact Kent Thiesse, Farm Management Analyst and Senior
Vice President, MinnStar Bank, Lake Crystal, MN. (Phone — (507) 381-7960);
E-mail — kent.thiesse@minnstarbank.com) W