FOCUS ON AG

Written by Kent Thiesse

Farm Management Analyst and Senior Vice President, MinnStar Bank
August 31, 2020
CFAP ENROLLMENT DEADLINE IS SEPTEMBER 11
The deadline to enroll in the Caronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) is September 11 at
local Farm Service Agency (FSA) offices. The CFAP program is intended to provide direct relief
to farmers and ranchers that faced price declines and loss of profitability due to the COVID-19
outbreak earlier this year. Producers that are making CFAP applications now will receive 100
percent of the eligible CFAP payment amount, as compared to 80 percent of the eligible CFAP
payment that was paid on approved applications earlier. USDA has announced that the additional
20 percent of the initial CFAP payments will be paid to producers very soon, assuming that they
had not exceeded the CFAP payment limits.

The CFAP application process is fairly easy for producers to complete. Producers that are new to
FSA programs and services, they will need to supply the FSA office with some additional FSA
forms detailing business and personal information, adjusted gross income verification, and
conservation compliance. Farmers that have participated in other USDA farm programs likely
have already completed necessary FSA program eligibility forms. Once the required FSA forms
are completed, producers can complete the CFAP application on-line and then fax or e-mail it to
the local FSA office. The CFAP application form (AD-3114), the CFAP calculator, other
FSA forms, and other details on CFAP are available at: www.farmers.gov/CFAP

There are over 160 commodities eligible for CFA payments, including non-specialty crops (field
crops), livestock, and specialty crops. Following is a summary of the commodities that are
eligible for CFA payments:
Field Crops --- Corn, soybeans, spring wheat, durum wheat, sorghum, oats, malting
barley, canola, upland cotton, millet, and sunflowers.
Livestock --- Cattle, hogs, sheep (including wool), and dairy.
Specialty Crops --- Numerous fruits, vegetables, nuts, and other specialty crops are
eligible. For a complete list, go to: www.farmers.gov/CFAP

As August 24, USDA had paid out over $9.2 billion in CFAP payments to producers of various
agricultural commodities, which represents approximately 58 percent of the $16 billion in funds
that were allocated by USDA earlier this year for CFAP payments. There should be adequate
funds to cover all eligible CFAP payments. As of August 24, USDA had approved 557,592
CFAP applications. Following is the breakdown of the total CFAP payment amounts for some of
the major commodities (as well as the % of the total payments), as of 8-24-20:
 Beef Cattle --- Nearly $4 billion (43.3%)
 Dairy (Milk) --- Approx. $1.7 billion (18.4%)
 Hogs --- Nearly $574 million (6.2%)
 Corn --- Just over $1.63 billion (17.7%)
 Soybeans --- Nearly 467 million (5%)
 Cotton --- Nearly $238 million (2.5%)
 All Other commodities --- Approx. $600 million (6.9%)
The following table shows a breakdown of the total CFAP payments (in millions of dollars) and
CFAP payments for field crops, livestock (cattle, hogs & sheep), dairy, and specialty crops in
Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, North and South Dakota and Wisconsin, including the (average
CFAP payment per eligible producer):

CFAP PAYMENTS AS OF 8-24-20

CFAP MN IA NE ND SD WI
Payments
Total $573.3 M. $921.1 M. $633.8 M. $252.4 M. $449.5 M. $503.7 M.
Payments ($20,046) ($19,088) ($20,386) ($16,887) ($24,093) ($30,224)
(Per Producer)
Field Crops $228.9 M. $415.3 M $255.5 M. $114.9 M. $115.2 M. $81.8 M.
(Per Producer) ($9,387) ($9,972) ($11,205) ($9,894) ($9,726) ($6,259)
Livestock $238.6 M. $454.9 M. $397.1 M. $125.5 M. $319.0 M. $83.9 M.
(Per Producer ($18,341) ($20,816) ($22,015) ($15,604) ($22,418) ($6,911)
Dairy $105.4 M. $51.3 M. $10.4 M. $4.5 M. $15.3 M. $333.3 M.
(Per Producer ($43,456) ($53,080) ($80,032) ($67,682) ($90,692) ($57,253)
Spec. Crops $411,418 $57,359 762,495 $7.6 M. $725 $4.7 M.
(Per Producer ($24,201) ($4,780) ($127,082) ($135,031) ($362.50) ($90,569)

The Upper Midwest States listed on the table were some of the highest States in the U.S. for total
CFAP payments as of 8-24-20. Iowa had the highest total CFAP payments followed by Nebraska
and Minnesota, with Texas and California in fourth and fifth and Wisconsin in sixth. However,
the payment per producer was much higher in some other areas of the U.S. due to the mix of
crops and livestock and the type of specialty crops that were eligible, as well as the average farm
business size. For example, the average payment per producer in California was $69,131, which
was considerably higher than the Upper Midwest States.

Future CFAP Payments

There has been some discussion by USDA of issuing additional CFAP payments this Fall,
utilizing a portion of the $14 billion that was made available to the Commodity Credit
Corporation (CCC) in July. The negative financial impacts to agricultural producers from
COVID-19 has continued well beyond the losses that were incurred earlier in the year. It is not
known if a second round of CFAP payments would utilize a similar formula to the first round of
payments, or if there would be additional commodities eligible for CFAP payments in the next
round of payments. Some questions have been raised about the calculation methodology that was
utilized to determine the first round of payments, as well as related to commodities that were not
eligible for CFAP payments. There is also potential for additional assistance to agriculture
producers in the coronavirus aide package that has been stalled in Congress for several weeks.

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Note --- For additional information contact Kent Thiesse, Farm Management Analyst and Senior
Vice President, MinnStar Bank, Lake Crystal, MN. (Phone --- (507) 381-7960);
E-mail --- kent.thiesse@minnstarbank.com) Web Site --- http://www.minnstarbank.com/