Senate Agriculture Committee ranking member Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and 14 Democratic Senate colleague are calling on USDA to reverse what they labeled an "arbitrary decision" that excludes lost meat sales by dairy farmers during the pandemic as eligible for COVID-19 aid payments under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 2 (CFAP 2).
The senators noted that losses from meat produced from breeding animals was included in CFAP 1 but not the CFAP 2 effort. “This change will affect the livestock industry and will be particularly harmful to dairy farmers who often operate at extremely tight margins,” the senators said. “The decision is even more troubling considering that USDA clearly has sufficient resources to cover these losses. Additionally, it is less complicated for both USDA and farmers to cover all livestock and avoid confusion about what animals are covered or excluded.”
It is not clear that the urgings from the lawmakers will result in a change in the CFAP 2 effort at this stage