USDA begins providing relief to thousands of farmers with operations at financial risk.
The USDA has announced that it will provide a $50 million aid package to farms at financial risk due to the coronavirus crisis. The USDA will provide this aid through grants to assist producers in the South who are at risk due to virus-related market disruptions.
“This is something that really needed to be done,” said USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Services Commissioner Chuck Conner. “This is something that we did not know was coming and it’s a great step.”
The USDA anticipates that about $70 million will be distributed to help producers who operate at financial risk due to coronavirus-related market disruptions.
The Agriculture Market Service Commission of the United States will provide the program’s administration, monitoring and evaluation. This office will coordinate resources and allocate funding. The commission will be led by a director, with staff to assist with program operations, outreach and communications.
“This is a challenging time for the agricultural economy and our mission is to mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus and to support agricultural producers who are impacted,” said Conner. “We needed to keep our growers in mind so we made sure this program made sense, when we determined the scope of the needs and the resources required to address them.”
This program is the result of the USDA’s Agricultural Trade Risk Task Force. The Task Force was launched after a request by the President in early 2020 asking for ways to assist producers impacted by the coronavirus crisis.
On Wednesday, the Task Force convened an update meeting to discuss the next steps in this effort. The Task Force will evaluate the $50 million distribution and then will provide recommendations to Congress on how to allocate this $50 million to assist producers.
Conner said farmers receiving this program will need strong support from their peers, government, and all segments of the agricultural community.
“I’m very encouraged by where we are with all of the federal agencies who are working on this issue.
