You Can Still Apply for COVID-19 Relief; Here’s How

Posted by Brian Sparks|May 8, 2021

Nearly all sectors of agriculture have been impacted by market disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 24, USDA dedicated $6 billion towards programs and efforts to provide financial assistance for agriculture producers, including nursery and greenhouse growers negatively impacted in 2020 by the coronavirus pandemic.

In a recent eGro alert, Dr. Beth Scheckeloff, an Extension Educator in Greenhouse Systems at The Ohio State University, provides an overview of the USDA Pandemic Assistance for Producers initiative, which is intended to reach more producers than previous COVID-19 aid programs, including small and socially disadvantaged, specialty crop, and organic producers. The pandemic assistance initiative includes numerous programs.

The USDA Pandemic Assistance for Producers includes a reopening of the CFAP 2 program. Ornamental growers take note: There have been two iterations of this program: CFAP 1 and CFAP 2. CFAP 2 is of particular importance to floriculture and nursery businesses. Last year, producers were able to apply for CFAP 2 payments based upon their 2019 sales. However, many producers were (and still are) unaware of this payment program. The greenhouses that did enroll were pleasantly surprised to receive a payment.

Also note that the CFAP 2 program includes numerous commodities and specialty crops aside from ornamentals, including vegetables (greenhouse tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, and cucumbers would fall here), fruits, horticulture crops (hops, herbs, etc.), aquaculture, turfgrass sod, row crops, livestock, tree nuts, honey, and more. If you produce other items in addition to floriculture or nursery products, you will want to explore your eligibility for those payments. See farmers.gov/pandemicassistance/cfap for all eligible categories.

For more information on how payments are calculated, and the next steps you need to take, check out the eGro alert here.