Tallahassee, Fla. – Today, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried is applauding a decision by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to further expand the list of commodities eligible for support under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) to include aquaculture, nursery growers, and additional specialty crops, as well as to extend the enrollment deadline until September 11.
“Today’s actions by the USDA will help Florida’s aquaculturists and nursery growers, who contribute over $1.3 billion in value to the state’s agriculture industry and support thousands of jobs, to recoup some of the major economic losses they have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic,” stated Commissioner Nikki Fried. “I’m pleased that the needs of our producers were heard and that action was taken to include them in this crucial expansion of support — all of Florida’s aquaculture and horticulture producers should apply immediately.”
Background: Last week, Commissioner Fried wrote to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue, asking for expanded CFAP eligibility to include aquaculture and horticulture and to extend the August 28 deadline for these industries to apply for support.
New Changes: The USDA collected comments and data for consideration of additional commodities through June 22, 2020. The following additional commodities are now eligible for CFAP:
- Specialty Crops: aloe leaves, bananas, batatas, bok choy, carambola (star fruit), cherimoya, chervil (french parsley), citron, curry leaves, daikon, dates, dill, donqua (winter melon), dragon fruit (red pitaya), endive, escarole, filberts, frisee, horseradish, kohlrabi, kumquats, leeks, mamey sapote, maple sap (for maple syrup), mesculin mix, microgreens, nectarines, parsley, persimmons, plantains, pomegranates, pummelos, pumpkins, rutabagas, shallots, tangelos, turnips/celeriac, turmeric, upland/winter cress, water cress, yautia/malanga, and yuca/cassava.
- Non-Specialty Crops and Livestock: liquid eggs, frozen eggs and all sheep. Only lambs and yearlings (sheep less than two years old) were previously eligible.
- Aquaculture: catfish, crawfish, largemouth bass and carp sold live as foodfish, hybrid striped bass, red drum, salmon, sturgeon, tilapia, trout, ornamental/tropical fish, and recreational sportfish.
- Nursery Crops and Flowers: nursery crops and cut flowers.
Other changes to CFAP include:
- 7 Commodities: onions (green), pistachios, peppermint, spearmint, walnuts and watermelons – are now eligible for Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Stability (CARES) Act funding for sales losses. Originally, these commodities were only eligible for payments on marketing adjustments.
- Correcting Payment Rates For: onions (green), pistachios, peppermint, spearmint, walnuts, and watermelons.
- Producers Who Have Applied: Agricultural 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 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 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.
For additional details and eligibility forms, visit Farmers.gov/CFAP.
Ag advocacy during COVID-19: Commissioner Fried has been a vocal advocate of USDA assistance during COVID-19 for Florida’s agriculture industry, which has suffered over $522 million in losses since March for seasonal crops alone. In March, she asked the USDA to speed up billions in assistance to farmers and purchase additional crops through federal programs, and has encouraged producers to sign up for USDA purchase programs including CFAP.
