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Shining Light on Farm & Food Policy for 20 Years.
Monday, December 23, 2024
USDA’s $19 billion COVID-19 aid package for farmers may fall well short of compensating producers for the estimated damage of the pandemic, and the department has an ambitious and novel plan to distribute USDA-purchased commodities to needy people.
The Senate OKs a bipartisan agreement to infuse the highly popular Paycheck Protection Program with an additional $320 billion while also making farms eligible for a separate disaster loan program for small businesses.
Friday’s announcement of $19 billion in coronavirus-related direct payments and commodity purchases was welcome news in farm country, which is reporting a growing level of stress about the pandemic.
The Department of Agriculture has announced a $19 billion program that combines direct payments to producers and $3 billion in commodity purchases for distribution through food banks and faith-based organizations.
The Small Business Administration ran out of money Thursday for the highly popular forgivable loans that dairy operations and other farms and businesses that have been applying for in droves to pay workers amid the loss of sales during the COVID-19 crisis.
The state is still under stay-at-home orders except for essential workers. But California Governor Gavin Newsom unveiled a new decision-making framework that will eventually get children back to school, non-essential employees back to work and allow more businesses to operate.
With unemployment spiking across the country as a result of the coronavirus, more and more people who never needed food assistance before are looking for help, forcing food banks, commodity groups and USDA to think creatively about how to meet the growing demand.
Without government relief, some analysts are sharply lowering their estimates of net farm income because of the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on agricultural markets, with the livestock sector and corn growers bearing much of the hit.