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Article: Perdue assures state ag chiefs that a CFAP 2 effort is coming
04 September 2020
The next round of USDA's Coronavirus Food Assistance Program
(CFAP) and prospects for aid to farmers affected by the recent
derecho and Hurricane Laura along with China's implementation of
its Phase One agreement commitments were among the topics addressed
by USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue during a session at the National
Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) 2020 Annual
Meeting.
COVID-19 came on the heels of what had already been a
"challenging few years" for US ag, Perdue told NASDA members. USDA
has "done a lot of work to try to mitigate" those challenges, he
remarked, noting CFAP as the latest examples of the department's
efforts.
Getting CFAP direct payments to farmers quickly was a top
priority for the department when it unveiled the program during the
spring, and Perdue again suggested a coming second round of aid
could help address shortcomings the department had to grapple with
as it initially pushed to get aid out the door.
Since CFAP only covered losses incurred through April 15, not
subsequent losses there has been criticism from many commodity
groups which point out many losses, and sometimes the most
substantial ones, were seen after that date. "We have listened and
will be coming with a CFAP 2 program," Perdue said, which will
address that issue.
Besides direct payments, Perdue pointed to another aspect of the
aid effort—the Farmers to Families Food Box Program—with an
additional $1 billion President Donald Trump recently announced for
the effort. Perdue called the program a "win-win-win situation,
helping our farmers have a market, helping those middle men whose
trucks and workforce were idled go back to work, and then
certainly, the best part of all was to be able to provide food to
those people who didn't maybe know where their next groceries would
come from."
Perdue also touted administration actions to keep meat and
poultry processing plants operating, preserving access to H-2A
foreign ag guestworkers and ensuring ag businesses are eligible for
emergency COVID-19 business loans.
Trade deals noted
While trade has "been overshadowed" by COVID, Perdue reminded
that has been an area of progress. While China got off to a "fairly
slow start" in meeting their purchase commitments under the Phase
One deal, he noted that the pace has since picked up and "you've
seen record corn shipments and even [soy]bean shipments here
recently."
Part of the shift is seasonal, Perdue added, noting that China's
ag imports from Brazil seen earlier in the year have slowed, owing
to their different growing and harvesting seasons compared with the
US. "We think we will own that market probably through next January
again until the next Brazilian crop comes in," Perdue said of
soybean exports to China.
Beyond ag purchases, Perdue said China has done "a fairly honest
job in trying to resolve these non-tariff technical glitches that
we've had for a long time." While not perfect, he noted that USDA
feels "really good" overall about compliance with the agreement so
far.
Meanwhile, the new US-Canada-Mexico Agreement (USMCA) took
effect in July, which he said along with the Phase One agreement
have helped provide more certainty regarding key US trade
relationships.
Disaster aid hinges on Congress
Prospects for aid to farmers affected by the recent Midwest
derecho and Hurricane Laura last week along the Gulf Coast were
raised by NASDA members. However, Perdue said the question of an
ad-hoc aid package "is up to Congress."
Unlike 2019 where USDA was essentially given "carte blanche" by
Congress to craft the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus
(WHIP+) aid program, "we don't have that same authority this year,"
Perdue noted. He said it would not be a surprise if Congress
provided additional aid for derecho- and hurricane-affected
farmers. But USDA is looking at what resources, even if limited,
that it does have to in the meantime to assist affected farmers, he
noted.