disaster aid

Late last week, the USDA announced another phase of assistance will be forthcoming to commodity and specialty crop producers impacted by natural disasters in 2020 and 2021.  Over 18,000 producers will soon be mailed new or updated pre-filled disaster applications to offset eligible crop losses.  About $...

Congress narrowly averted a government shutdown late last week, passing another stop-gap funding measure that continues farm disaster and pandemic aid. This came amid a Republican fight over the president’s vaccine policies. The new funding lasts only until February 18th, when lawmakers must again wrestle with funding for the rest of the current fiscal year. But ...

House Democrats included billions for Ag disaster aid in their stop-gap government funding bill that passed on a party-line vote Wednesday, but that now faces a Senate GOP filibuster over its debt limit hike. The stop-gap spending bill would prevent a government shutdown October 1st, despite the inclusion of billions of dollars for farm country and other disasters ...

Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue hinted this week at the possibility of more CFAP aid for farmers on the horizon. Perdue confirmed that the USDA is considering “shortly after Labor Day” offering a second wave of CFAP relief. Funding for the next round of payments would come from the additional $14 billion Congress allocated in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act to replenish the Commod

House Ag Republicans and Democrats are not sure USDA is doing the best job it can implementing Farm Bill and disaster aid programs put in place by Congress.  FSA staffing is a key concern of lawmakers.  House Ag Chair Collin Peterson brought up the decades-old issue with Undersecretary Bill Northey at a recent hearing on progress implementing the Farm Bill and Disaster Aid.   “...