USDA officials are urging farmers to get their paperwork ready for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP).

Bill Beam, deputy administrator of farm programs for the Farm Service Agency, and Sonia Jimenez, deputy director of specialty crop programs for the Agricultural Marketing Service, say USDA will soon start taking applications for the program, which has set aside $16 billion in direct payments to farmers and ranchers.

The payments will be coupled to actual production and will be based on losses that producers have experienced in response to price declines and supply chain disruptions from COVID-19. To qualify for a payment, a commodity must have declined in price by at least 5% between January and April. 

The first part of the payment will be calculated from price losses from Jan. 1-April 15 — producers will be compensated for 85% of their price loss during that period. The second part will be derived from losses starting April 15 through the next two quarters — producers will be compensated for 30% of their expected losses.

Jimenez, speaking during a brief webinar, says the program will be open to all producers regardless of commodity or size.

Beam says that once signup commences, producers will need to contact their Farm Service Agency county office to schedule an appointment.

Staff will help producers complete portions of form CCC-902 — Farm Operating Plan. He says that the following forms will also be needed to apply for CFAP, although if you’ve dealt with USDA before it is likely that they already have these on file:

CCC-901. Identifies members of a farm or ranch that is a legal entity. Member Information will be completed by legal entities and joint operations to collect member names, addresses, and Tax Identification Numbers and citizenship status.

CCC-941. Reports your average adjusted gross income for programs where income restrictions apply.

CCC-942. This certification reports income from farming, ranching and forestry for those exceeding the adjusted gross income limitation.

AD-1026. Ensures compliance with highly erodible land conservation and wetland conservation.

AD-2047. Provides basic customer contact information.

SF-3881. Collects your banking information to allow USDA to make payments to you via direct deposit.

More information can be found by visiting USDA online.