The American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) is calling on congressional leaders to put together a major aid package for U.S. agriculture, going beyond additional payments to farmers.
The group said in a nearly five-page letter to leaders that efforts need to include replenishing Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) funding to a new cap of $68 billion; waiving any farmer payment caps; including provisions in the $3 trillion-plus, House-passed aid package, including direct payments for losses after April 15; providing support for biofuel production facilities; allowing aid to independent and contract poultry producers not eligible for the $16 billion in Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) payments being distributed by USDA; allowing Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) acreage for emergency haying and grazing; easing rules in the Paycheck Protection Program’s (PPP) forgivable loans, including allowing farms to get funding for H-2A workers; making farmers eligible for PPP loans even if they show Schedule F losses in farm income; making Farm Credit institutions eligible for the PPP's set-aside for small financial lenders; funding to offset costs of accommodating social distancing needs in H-2A housing and to obtain personal protective equipment for employees; providing business targeted, limited liability protections that would shield farmers and ranchers; including several rural broadband provisions, including accelerated funding for the implementation of the Broadband DATA Act; and waiving overtime fees for federal meat inspectors in small and medium-sized packing plants.
The package pulls together many efforts that various farm/commodity groups and lawmakers have called for in recent weeks. The next aid package is not seen being acted on by Congress until after the July 4 recess.
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