The Department of Agriculture’s second effort at easing the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic has distributed more than half its intended funding.
According to USDA figures, producers have received more than $7.6 billion in Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 2.0 payments thus far, more than half the program’s planned $14 billion in funds. More than 443,000 producers have had their applications approved.
In a statement, Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue said CFAP-2 “builds upon the over $10 billion disbursed under the first round of CFAP,” which wrapped up its signup in September. That program distributed more than $10.3 billion in payments and approved applications from nearly 649,000 producers.
Just over half the current CFAP-2 payments are being distributed to acreage-based commodities like corn, soybeans, and wheat, with corn the top overall commodity in the program at more than $2.1 billion in payments. Livestock production is responsible for another roughly 28% of payments, with cattle producers receiving nearly $1.7 billion in payments.
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Iowa leads the nation in payments with more than $776 million. Three other states have more than $500 million in total payments: Nebraska ($517 million); Minnesota ($510 million); and Illinois ($505 million).
The second iteration of the program included additional commodities and tweaked the payment method after the original program fell short of the $16 billion planned allocation. Producers have until Dec. 11 to submit applications.
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