Billions More in Federal Aid on the Way for Agriculture Producers

Posted by Growing Produce Staff|June 21, 2021

USDA has provided details regarding billions of dollars in aid to agriculture producers as part of its Pandemic Assistance for Producers initiative.

Earlier this year, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced plans to use available pandemic assistance funds to address a number of gaps and disparities in previous rounds of aid. As part of the Pandemic Assistance for Producers initiative announced in March, USDA pledged to continue Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) payments and to provide aid to producers and businesses left behind.

The following is planned to be implemented within the next 60 days:

$700 million for Pandemic Response and Safety Grants for PPE and protective measures for specialty crop, meat, and seafood workers
$700 million for biofuels producers
$580 million for Supplemental Dairy Margin Coverage for small and medium farms
$400 million for the new Dairy Donation Program to address food insecurity and mitigate food waste
$200 million for small, family-owned timber harvesting and hauling businesses
$20 million for organic cost share assistance, such as producers transitioning to organic

“USDA is honoring its commitment to get financial assistance to producers and critical agricultural businesses, especially those left out or underserved by previous COVID aid,” Vilsack said. “These investments through USDA Pandemic Assistance will help our food, agriculture, and forestry sectors get back on track and plan for the future.”

Under the Biden Administration so far, USDA has allocated $11 billion in assistance for agriculture, including CFAP payments, specialty crop block grants, beginning farmer and rancher development assistance, low-income nutrition incentives, local agriculture marketing assistance, pandemic cover crop support, and American Rescue Plan debt relief for socially disadvantaged producers.