The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced August 12 that it is extending the deadline to apply for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) to September 11.

Also, in response to public comments and data, additional commodities are now covered by the program .

After USDA’s review of over 1,700 responses, even more farmers and ranchers will have the opportunity for assistance to help keep operations afloat during these tough times.

USDA collected comments and supporting data for consideration of additional commodities through June 22. Additional crop and livestock commodities that are now eligible for CFAP include all sheep (only lambs and yearlings were previously eligible), microgreens, nectarines, parsley, persimmons, catfish, crawfish, tilapia, trout, nursery crops and cut flowers, and many others.

Full details can be found in the Federal Register in the Notice of Funding Availability and Final Rule Correction, and at www.farmers.gov/cfap.

To ensure availability of funding, producers with approved applications initially received 80 percent of their payments. The Farm Service Agency (FSA) will automatically issue the remaining 20 percent of the calculated payment to eligible producers. Going forward, producers who apply for CFAP will receive 100 percent of their total payment, not to exceed the payment limit, when their applications are approved.

Applying for CFAP:
Producers, especially those who have not worked with FSA previously, are recommended to call 877-508-8364 to begin the application process. An FSA staff member can help producers start their application during the phone call.

On farmers.gov/cfap, producers can:

• Download the AD-3114 application form and manually complete the form to submit to their local USDA Service Center by mail, electronically or by hand delivery to their local office or office drop box.
• Complete the application form using the CFAP Application Generator and Payment Calculator. This Excel workbook allows customers to input information specific to their operation to determine estimated payments and populate the application form, which can be printed, then signed and submitted to their local USDA Service Center.

If producers have login credentials, known as eAuthentication, they can use the online CFAP Application Portal to certify eligible commodities online, digitally sign applications and submit directly to the local USDA Service Center.

All other eligibility forms, such as those related to adjusted gross income and payment information, can be downloaded from farmers.gov/cfap. For existing FSA customers, these documents are likely already on file.