The federal government's Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) closed to new applications Friday as funding was on track to be exhausted.
That marked the end of a $961 billion emergency effort that helped millions of small businesses survive the pandemic but included fraud claims and criticism that it did not reach the neediest businesses.
The program had been scheduled to end on May 31, but the Small Business Administration on Friday said in a notice to lenders that "due to the high volume of originations today, the portal will be closing for new originations that evening."
U.S. ag interests also fought details of the program in order to be considered eligible for the aid, and there were ag-specific enrollment opportunities during 2020 that afforded farm businesses to tap the aid.