CALF_News_June_July_2020

13 CALF News • June | July 2020 • www.calfnews.net package, we hope to get the set-aside program approved in that bill.” Stimulus help On May 19, Uncle Sam announced provisions for the multi-billion dollar Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP). USDA said local Farm Service Agency offices were to begin accepting applications for CFAP funds, which the Trump administration hoped to begin rolling out to producers in early June. CFAP assistance is available to live- stock producers who have an ownership interest in eligible livestock that have suf- fered a 5-percent or greater price decline as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and face additional significant costs in marketing their inventories due to unex- pected surplus and disrupted markets. According to USDA, a single payment for livestock will be calculated using the sum of the producer’s number of livestock sold between Jan. 15 and April 15, 2020, multiplied by the payment rates per head and the highest inventory number of livestock between April 16 and May 14, 2020, multiplied by the payment rate per head. For payment details, go to https:// www.farmers.gov/cfap/livestock . USDA encouraged producers to assemble information on a farm or cattle operation’s recent sales and inventory and set up an appointment at their Farm Service Agency (FSA) office. Producers must provide the following information to qualify for CFAP:  Total sales of eligible livestock, by species and class, between Jan. 15 to April 15, 2020, of owned inventory as of Jan. 15, including any offspring from that inventory; and  Highest inventory of eligible livestock, by species and class, between April 16 and May 14, 2020. OSU’s Peel notes the $19 billion program includes $16 billion in direct payments to farmers and ranchers. That included $9.5 billion of emergency fund- ing from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES) and $6.5 billion of funding from the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). An OSU study estimated total losses to the beef cattle industry of $13.6 bil- lion including $9.2 billion in 2020 losses. Peel says damage to the cow-calf sector was estimated at $3.7 billion, along with $2.5 billion in losses to stocker produc- ers and $3 billion in losses to the feedlot sector. Additionally, Peel says the cow- calf sector would incur another $4.4 billion in long-term losses if the 2020 damages were not compensated. Producers and feeders nationwide remain antsy over the wait for CARES help.“Secretary Perdue has repeatedly said that he wants checks to producers by the end of May,” says Jill Johnson, execu- tive director of the Illinois Beef Associa- tion.“In the meantime, it is important that you prepare documentation of your losses and have as much documentation on your operation as you can get.” According to the USDA,“CFAP payments are subject to a per person and legal entity payment limitation of $250,000. This limitation applies to the total amount of CFAP payments made with respect to all eligible commodities. Similar to the manner in which statutory payment limitations are applied in the major commodity and disaster assistance programs administered by FSA, pay- ments will be attributed to an individual through the direct attribution process used in those programs.” Continued on page 16  INNOVATION