(NAFB) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture is putting new programs and initiatives in place to bring more assistance to farmers, ranchers, and producers who were hit hard by COVID-19 market disruptions. The new initiative, called the USDA Pandemic Assistance for Producers, will reach a broader set of producers than previous aid programs. USDA is putting at least six billion dollars toward new programs, half of the total of 12 billion dollars in aid that’s now available. During a Zoom call with NAFB farm broadcasters, Vilsack said the resources come from prior COVID assistance packages as well as traditional USDA programs.

Rates for those producers will get published at www.farmers.gov/cfap. In April, USDA will also begin paying out 20 dollars-per-acre payments to eligible crops under the CFAP 2 program. Those crops are either the “flat-rate” or “price-triggered” crops.

He says USDA is making changes in the aid package to help more people get the assistance they might not have received in earlier aid packages.

The agency is also using some existing USDA programs to provide assistance where it’s needed most.

The agency is dedicating at least six billion dollars to develop new programs or modify existing proposals using funding from the Consolidated Appropriations Act and other coronavirus aid that went unspent by the prior administration.