ALBANY COUNTY — The United States Department of Agriculture announced last week its expansion of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, which is designed to help farmers bounce back from financial loss related to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

For 60 days, beginning on April 5, farmers will once again be able to apply for relief payments, which were first administered last year in two rounds, CFAP and CFAP 2. The new sign-up window is considered an extension of CFAP 2; the initial sign-up period ended Dec. 11.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack stated in a press release that, by adding a second sign-up period, farmers who had missed out on payments they qualified for would have another opportunity, and that the USDA Farm Service Agency was spending $2.5 million on outreach. 

“Our new USDA Pandemic Assistance for Producers initiative will help get financial assistance to a broader set of producers, including to socially disadvantaged communities, small and medium sized producers, and farmers and producers of less traditional crops,” Vilsack said in the release. 

As part of a number of programs intended to help farmers amid the pandemic, CFAP provides direct payments to those who have experienced sales disruptions based on formulas that apply to myriad products, including row crops, dairy, livestock, farmed fish, and more.

Any farmers “who face continuing market disruptions and significant marketing costs” are eligible for relief under CFAP 2, according to USDA rules.

CFAP 2 has already put nearly $230 million in the hands of New York farmers who have submitted nearly 7,500 approved applications. Milk-based losses took the bulk of funding, pulling in $111 million, while $65 million went toward sales commodities losses, and $41 million went toward acreage-based losses; the balance was distributed widely among other sorts of products like livestock and soybeans and alfalfa.

The first CFAP round provided $224 million to New York farmers, who submitted 5,735 approved applications, with dairy farmers receiving $167 million and the remaining categories each getting around $20 million.

Altogether, the two rounds of assistance have contributed roughly $23.8 billion to farmers nationwide. The new expansion is estimated to provide an additional $5.6 billion, according to the USDA.

Payments per round of relief are limited to $250,000 per person and legal entity, with the absolute limit being $750,000 for entities that have three members who “each provide 400 hours of active personal management or personal active labor,” according to CFAP rules.