WASHINGTON, D.C. (NAFB) – The Department of Agriculture just-announced multi-billion-dollar Pandemic Assistance for Producers effort takes aim at gaps in earlier virus aid and restarts the popular Coronavirus Food Assistance Program.

The new effort puts at least $6 billion into new programs to reach a broader set of producers than earlier efforts, including small and minority, specialty crop and organic producers.

American Farm Bureau’s Andrew Walmsley says another $6 billion will go out through restarting of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program.

Walmsley meantime, says food supply chains and biofuels will benefit from the new Pandemic Assistance for Producers program.

Sign-up for the new money from Congressional appropriations and unspent covid relief will start April 5 and continue for 60-days.

Benefitting producers of dairy, euthanized livestock and poultry, biofuels, specialty and organic crops, and there’s aid for PPE, food donation infrastructure and interstate meat shipments.

$500 million will go out in late April through existing marketing, training, minority and beginning farmer outreach, consumer nutrition, Ag research and farm stress programs.