Lawmakers Call On USDA To Provide CARES Act Funds To Apple Growers

On Tuesday, several lawmakers, including Central Washington’s Dan Newhouse sent a letter to Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue asking, that apple growers be included in coronavirus relief. The bipartisan letter, signed by 25 members of Congress, calls on the USDA to provide CARES Act funds for the apple industry.

“We urge you to use the funds Congress provided in the CARES Act to help apple growers make it through this crisis so they may continue to provide American consumers with the number one most consumed fruit in the United States,” the letter stated.  “Steep price decline clearly makes apple growers eligible for CFAP payments, based on the USDA’s requirement of a 5 percent-or-greater price decline between mid-January and mid-April as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic”

In order to qualify for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, producers must be eligible under one of three categories:

• Had crops that suffered a five percent-or-greater price decline between mid-January and mid-April as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,
• Had produce shipped but subsequently spoiled due to loss of marketing channel, and
• Had shipments that did not leave the farm or mature crops that remained unharvested.  

Despite evidence to the contrary, USDA decided to exclude apple farmers from CFAP. The members sent a letter to Secretary Perdue demanding USDA reverse its decision based on data from the apple industry showing apple price losses ranged anywhere from 6.5% to as much as 24.9% due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Apple growers take the same risks and work the same long hours as producers of row crops and livestock,” said Jim Bair, U.S. Apple Association President & CEO. “They worry about weather, pests and markets, and in most every way apple growers are indistinguishable from other farmers, so there’s no reason not to treat them the same.“

According to USDA, CFAP provides vital financial assistance to producers of agricultural commodities who have suffered a five-percent-or-greater price decline or who had losses due to market supply chain disruptions due to COVID-19 and face additional significant market costs.

Click Here to read Tuesday's Letter.

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