USDA announces CFAP help for poultry contract growers
USDA includes contract growers in eligibility for CFAP2.
Aug. 31, 2021
By Mary Hightower
U of A System Division of Agriculture
Fast facts
- Contract growers of poultry, hogs, pigs included in CFAP2
- Inclusion of contract growers by USDA is unprecedented
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FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Contract poultry growers have until Oct. 12 to sign up for aid under the second Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, or CFAP2.
John Anderson, economist with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, said up to $1 billion has been allocated through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021 to provide CFAP 2 payments to contract growers.
Anderson said the pandemic was extremely disruptive to the poultry sector.
“As COVID-related illness and/or quarantines disrupted labor, processing operations slowed, as did movement of inputs and product along the entire supply chain,” he said. “For growers, the effect of this situation was, in many cases, a reduction in birds delivered and, as a result, lower revenue. The impacts on individual grower operations were potentially severe.”
The expanded eligibility for CFAP2 includes not only contract broiler growers but also contract growers of other poultry such as pullets, layers, eggs, turkeys, ducks, geese, and pheasants and quail. It also includes contract growers of hogs and pigs.
Growers can sign up by completing a CFAP2 application at their local Farm Service Agency office. Find a local office here: farmers.gov/service-locator.
The inclusion of contract growers was unprecedented, Anderson said.
“This announcement represents the culmination of several months of work by USDA to redefine program eligibility requirements to include contract growers,” he said. Contract growers haven’t “historically been directly eligible for most forms of federal assistance because they do not own the animals they raise.”
USDA announced eligibility for contract growers on Aug. 24.
See Anderson’s full report: https://bit.ly/3mIRSpB.
To learn about extension programs in Arkansas, contact your local Cooperative Extension Service agent or visit www.uaex.uada.edu. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @AR_Extension. To learn more about Division of Agriculture research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website: aaes.uada.edu. Follow on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch. To learn more about the Division of Agriculture, visit https://uada.edu/. Follow us on Twitter at @AgInArk.
About the Division of Agriculture
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.
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Media contact: Mary Hightower
mhightower@uada.edu