USDA has paused up to $2.3 billion dollars in supplemental CFAP payments. The suspension comes as part of executive orders signed by President Biden, freezing many actions of the previous administration.
Acting FSA Administrator Steve Peterson speaks with RFD-TV’s own Tammi Arender on what is happening, if FSA will be accepting applications, and if there will be any additional steps to provide relief in the meantime.
According to Adm. Peterson, “The only thing we are stopping is the processing of payments. Our county offices are open, and they are continuing to accept applications from the January 19th to February 26th timeframe. So, producers who are interested should contact our offices...”
Dr. John Newton, the Chief Economist for the American Farm Bureau, also gave his reaction to the news, how the freeze will impact farmers, the value of the program, and what to expect moving forward.
“The assistance is needed. We have been lobbying on this on the Hill for quite some time... We did send comments to USDA, perspective from our members on how these programs can be improved. So, hopefully as they are doing their agency review they can make some tweaks to this program and make it work better for those livestock and poultry producers,” Dr. Newton explains.
For more information from the FSA, click HERE.
For more information from AFBF, click HERE.
