COVID Relief

GOP Lawmakers Want Answers from USDA Over Pure Prairie's Bankruptcy

Tue, 29 Oct 2024 18:45:07 GMT

Republican lawmakers have called on USDA to provide explanations regarding the oversight of Pure Prairie Poultry, Inc., which filed for bankruptcy shortly after receiving substantial USDA funding. The situation has raised concerns about the department’s management of grants and loans, as well as its impact on farmers and the poultry industry.

A group of Senators, including Sen. Jonie Ernst (R-Iowa), sent a letter to USDA this week.

As AgDay reported on Tuesday, the Iowa Department of Agriculture euthanized roughly 1.33 million chickens.
That’s after Pure Prairie Poultry said in late September that due to its bankruptcy, it could no longer afford to buy feed for its flock living on 14 Iowa farms. It’s estimated the process cost USDA $2 million.

The company also contracted with farmers in Wisconsin and Minnesota who were also affected.

Company Received $45 Million from USDA

Ernst says Pure Prairie Poultry was only in business for a few short years, and in that time, she says the company received $45 million dollars in grants and loans from USDA .

Nearly $7 million of that was from USDA’s Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion program.
The company also received a $38.7-million loan from USDA’s Food Supply Chain Guaranteed Loan Program , which is part of President Biden’s “ Build Back Better ” plan.

According to a White House Fact Sheet , this was tied to the Biden-Harris administration’s plan to promote competition in the American economy and “create a fairer, more resilient, and more dynamic economy.”

The $45 million was used by Pure Prairie Poultry to help expand and renovate a shuttered processing plant in Charles City, Iowa. USDA issued a press release in July of 2024 to celebrate the investments.

Lawmakers’ Demands

According to the lawmakers’ letter, which is demanding accountability and answers, close to 2-million chickens were “left without feed or any processing option.”

The letter requests explanations on several key points:

The oversight process for loan and grant guarantees
USDA’s awareness of Pure Prairie Poultry’s financial situation
Steps taken to assist affected growers and state agriculture departments
Efforts to salvage the Charles City plant

In the letter, lawmakers said, “Over the past two years, USDA has provided $223 million in loan guarantees and grants to 30 meat and poultry processing companies. A press release from the USDA celebrated this funding as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s ‘commitment to strengthen critical food supply chain infrastructure to create more thriving communities for the American people.’ Unfortunately, this investment has instead resulted in the loss of income, jobs, and poultry across three states.”

“Pure Prairie Poultry’s abrupt closure shows the importance of proper vetting and oversight at USDA to ensure the agency’s multi-million dollar grants and loans are actually helping producers, rather than being flushed down the drain and harming entire rural communities in the process,” Ernst says. “Encouraging the growth of meat processing and strengthening our supply chain is a cause I can support, but this lack of accountable spending hurts our farmers, livestock, and taxpayers.”

USDA Defends Grants an Programs

A USDA spokesperson defended the department’s programs, saying they have worked to “rebuild and create new markets for U.S. farmers” after challenges posed by trade wars and the Covid-19 pandemic.

The spokesperson also urged lawmakers to focus on passing the overdue farm bill: “Rather than trying to score political points, those members of Congress should work with USDA to reopen the facility and pass a new Farm Bill, which is now two years late.”

More Background on Pure Prairie Poultry

More than 1 million birds had to be culled in Iowa due to the company’s inability to care for them.
Contracted farmers in Wisconsin and Minnesota were also affected.
According to the lawmakers’ letter, approximately 2 million chickens were “left without feed or any processing option.”

The lawmakers have requested USDA respond to their questions by Nov. 8.

Your Next Read: Senator Stabenow “Holds The Keys” to the Farm Bill Getting Done in 2024

3 Topics Producers Should be Tracking in the Farm Bill

Wed, 31 May 2023 15:23:48 GMT

It’s no secret that conservation and insurance will be heavy topics of discussion in ongoing farm bill debates this year. But it’s difficult to understand the exact role each title will play in legislation.

There might be some insight from House Ag Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.).

“We don’t need to rewrite the entire farm bill,” Thompson says. “We’re comfortable with many parts of the 2018 bill and there aren’t many tweaks or changes, instead things we need to protect and invest in more.”

With Thompson’s words in tow, Kala Jenkins, Pinion ag consultant, and her colleague Bill Penn, Director of Farm Program Services, have carved out their own theories on what to expect in farm bill 2023.

Here’s a highlight of what they’re tracking as we move through the year.

1. Program Limitations with FSA

USDA defines a small farm as one that sees gross cash farm income under $250,000. According to the agency’s 2021 data, large farms—operations that gross more than $250,000—account for 85% of ag’s market value.

But these income brackets often leave small producers emptyhanded when it comes to disaster programs, according to Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA).

“The 2018 Farm Bill was intentionally written to help the largest farmers receive sometimes millions of dollars of subsidies from the federal government each year,” Grassley said to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack in a Senate Ag Committee hearing. “I’m asking that you would now work with me to stop this needless abuse of taxpayer dollars.”

Related story: Crop Insurance, Production Costs, ERP Among Key Topics at Senate Ag Farm Bill Hearing

Penn, who formerly served as USDA’s Assistant Deputy Administrator from 1985 to 1993, doesn’t see the aid differences as abuse and wants aid to go to the producers who make the biggest difference.

“Congressmen always like to talk about how 10% of the producers are getting 70% of the payments, but those 10% of growers are producing 85% of our supply,” Penn says. “If the goal of aid is to ensure America’s needs are met, we have to offer protections to those that put in the work.”

2. AGI Calculations

Adjusted gross income (AGI) is used to determine eligibility for disaster programs, through means testing.

Penn formerly served as USDA’s assistant deputy administrator from 1985 to 1993. He says in the 1980’s, disaster programs means testing was determined through gross receipts rather than AGI. Penn believes AGI is a better test for means testing than gross receipts because it is a “net income” number rather than a gross revenue number.

Related story: Paul Neiffer: PARP – Will You Get Anything?

However, in the recent WHIP+ and ERP Programs, USDA used AGI as a test to determine if someone was a farmer. In Penn’s view, gross receipts is a better measure of who is a farmer when compared to AGI.

“If a farmer has a bad disaster year, he might have a negative net income or AGI. But his wife, a schoolteacher who has a $70,000 positive, non-farm income would push them out of WHIP+ eligibility for increased limitations due to their AGI,” he says.

Penn says when the government is carving-out a disaster aid plan, it must be careful what question it is trying to answer with balance sheet numbers, or aid won’t be inclusive.

But, Penn is concerned if AGI limitations are applied to crop insurance.

3. Crop Insurance Coverage

In the past 20 years, the Federal Crop Insurance Program has covered an average of 87% of all U.S. croplands that were eligible for the program.

So, is a climate angle how crop insurance should be viewed? Jenkins isn’t convinced. She says the bottom line is in making programs voluntary.

“If we focus solely on climate and conservation in all our farm bill initiatives, could we miss something in the literature that could make certain practices mandatory instead of voluntary? That’s the concern we’re hearing from growers now.”

Related story: Commodity Programs Might See a 12% Cut in the Proposed $1 Trillion Farm Bill

Beyond conservation, Jenkins hears whispers of Title XI programs taking an entirely different direction in 2023.

“I’ve heard chatter about whether we need to change the way some of these programs work today, like whole farm crop insurance programs versus the noninsured crop disaster assistance program.” she says. “Then there are also some stakeholders questioning whether we need to link insurance to conservation, while others don’t want it to be the main focus. The needle is all over the board.”

USDA Announces Second Round of Debt Relief to "Distressed" Borrowers

Tue, 28 Mar 2023 20:02:43 GMT

USDA announced another $123 million in payments will be made in April under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to provide debt relief for borrowers.

Focus for the second round of payments is on those who were:

• Past due on a qualifying direct loan as of Sept. 30, 2020, but by fewer than 60 days and are still delinquent
• Restructured a qualifying loan after Feb. 28, 2020, through primary loan servicing at FSA
• Owe more interest on a direct loan than the level of principal owed.

“In too many cases, the rules surrounding our farm loan programs may actually be detrimental to helping a borrower get back to a financially viable path. As a result, some are pushed out of farming and others stuck under a debt burden that prevents them from growing or reacting to opportunities,” said USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack. “Loan programs for the newest and more vulnerable producers must be about providing opportunity and tailored to expect and manage stumbles and hurdles along the way.”

According to Vilsack, this relief focuses on “long-term stability and success” of borrows that are in distress.

USDA’s Other Aid

The agency is still working on the payments that are to go to farmers who suffered discrimination in FSA loan programs. This falls under some $3.1 billion in debt relief that was included in the IRA.

USDA in October 2022 released more than $800 million in automatic relief payments, the first tranche from the program. That money went to about 11,000 borrowers 60 days or more delinquent on Farm Service Agency loans and 2,100 borrowers who had their collateral liquidated but still owed. The agency has been paying out more complicated cases on a case-by-case basis.

Crop Insurance, Production Costs, ERP Among Key Topics at Senate Ag Farm Bill Hearing

Fri, 10 Feb 2023 21:00:25 GMT

A Senate Ag Committee hearing Thursday on the new farm bill raised a issue that is now evident: the Title 1 farm bill safety net can no longer deal with the current ag environment of rising production costs and relatively high prices for some commodities. USDA officials also faced criticism about its handling of Phase 2 payments via the Emergency Relief Program (ERP).

Other topics that have previously surfaced included Republican concerns about climate and conservation changes to crop insurance, while Democrats continued to urge expansion of the program to more producers.

Need for change

Senate Ag Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) said the 2018 Farm Bill largely lived up to expectations, but she suggested its successor must deal with several challenges: increasingly damaging natural disasters and accelerated costs of production.

“There are still gaps in the farm safety net as farmers continue to face global market uncertainty and climate-fueled weather disasters,” she said. “While many commodity prices are at historic highs, which is good, we also know that land and fertilizer and input costs are also near record highs.”

Farm safety net gaps

Ranking Member John Boozman (R-Ark.) said a focus on boosting nutrition and climate programs has obscured the fact that farm safety net programs like Price Loss Coverage (PLC) are ill equipped to deal with the current situation.

Related articles: Stepped-Up Basis Leaning in Favor of Rural America on House Ways and Means Panel

“Prices for many of our major commodities would have to drop sharply before the current Title 1 Price Loss Coverage safety net would start to work,” Boozman said, noting corn prices would need to plummet 46% before PLC would provide enrolled farmers any assistance. “By the time corn prices fell that low, the significant damage would have already been done.”

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) asked if USDA had looked at how the two safety net programs respond to inflation, such as adjusting reference prices — which trigger payments under the PLC program.

“I will tell you my legislative staff is always quick to tell me to emphasize that Congress writes the farm bill, and then that’s going to be important here too, obviously those reference prices are in statute,” USDA Undersecretary for Farm Production and Conservation Robert Bonnie told Tuberville. “When we talk to producers, there’s lots of concern about obviously rising input costs,” he added, but then emphasized USDA can only operate farm safety net programs as dictated by Congress.

USDA disaster aid implementation was both praised and criticized

Democrats and Republicans agreed with farmers who have complained about USDA’s methodology for payments under Phase 2 of the ERP, saying they do not adequately compensate farmers for their losses. “I appreciate USDA’s efforts through Phase 1 of ERP, which generally worked well in supporting producers with crop losses and [2020 and 2021],” said Sen John Thune (R-S.D.). “But the Phase 2 methodology… often does not accurately reflect crop losses that Congress meant to cover.”

Thune urged USDA consider reverting to the approach used in Phase 1 of the ERP effort for 2022 losses, a suggestion echoed by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who said farmers in her state “are grateful for the quick and effective approach taken during the implementation of ERP Phase 1,” but “a number of them have been less enthusiastic of the income tax-based approach taken during the rollout of ERP Phase 2.”

Bonnie said USDA’s approach on ERP Phase 2 focused on ensuring more producers had access to aid, but said if there are resources remaining after the effort the department may look at a shallow loss effort to address some of the concerns with Phase 2.

Related articles: The Cost of a Farm Bill: 2023 Row Crop Priorities

Bonnie said ad hoc programs like ERP have helped farmers facing disaster-related losses, but he stressed that federal crop insurance remains a key risk management tool, and that USDA has worked to expand the program to cover more producers.

Crop insurance and climate intersect

Boozman again raised a concern voiced by many Republicans about any move to use crop insurance to incentivize climate or conservation practices — which GOP members contend could undermine the actuarial soundness of the program and move it away from its core focus as a risk management tool.

“Can you commit to making sure that any efforts to expand the crop insurance programs are science based, peer reviewed, and protect the integrity of the program,” he asked Bonnie, saying a “one-size fits all” approach that elevates certain practices like cover cropping could disadvantage farmers in areas where those practices are not practical.

Bonnie responded that “with respect to crop insurance, everything we have to do has to be actuarially sound as we’ve got to maintain the integrity of crop insurance.” He said recent incentives offered to farmers for cover cropping have taken the form of premium rebates — not changes to premiums or the overall premium subsidy paid by the government.

Stabenow praised federal crop insurance, calling it “the number one risk management tool for producers.” However, improvements are needed, she said, promising improvements to the program, “including specialty crop growers, organic producers, beginning and diversified farmers.”

Regarding prevent plant coverage

Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.) asked if USDA was looking at expanding prevented plant coverage under crop insurance, which pays farmers when they are unable to plant an insured crop due to extreme weathers. He noted eligibility currently hinges on a farmer being able to plant, insure and harvest crops in one of the four preceding crop years — known as the four-in-one rule — and some farmers in the West are at more risk of losing coverage due to prolonged drought conditions.

“One in four is very regionalized in a lot of cases,” acknowledged USDA Administrator Marcia Bunger. “So, for this coming year, we’ve made an exception for several western states to step outside of that one and four,” adding USDA would consult with stakeholders over the next year about a potential long-term solution to the issue.

Related articles: How USDA’s $2.8 Billion Climate-Smart Investment Might Impact Your Operation

USDA climate program efforts were raised by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who noted concern over USDA’s move to tap more than $3 billion from the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) to fund its Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities (PCSC) effort that funds climate-smart ag pilot projects.

“Spending over $3 billion without input from Congress is a serious concern for everybody in the Congress,” Grassley stated.

Grassley then asked Bonnie if USDA had any plans to tap CCC for additional USDA programs. Bonnie reiterated what USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack has said — that PCSC falls within the CCC’s charter as it looks to expand and create new markets for ag commodities.

However, Bonnie ultimately said there were no plans for new CCC-backed programs under the Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) mission area.

USDA is Making Additional CFAP 2 Payments

Fri, 13 Jan 2023 18:11:34 GMT

USDA has begun issuing additional payments under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 2 (CFAP 2) effort to underserved farmers and ranchers using Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) funds except for those to tobacco farmers where payments will be funded by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).

Read more: Vilsack Lists USDA’s 4 Policy Objectives for 2023

The additional payments will be equal to 15% of the producer’s previous CFAP 2 payments. The payments were to be processed and made available to county FSA offices to certify around Jan. 11. USDA said the payments would be issued within 30 days.

Read more: We Have ERP Phase II

Contract growers are not eligible for these additional payments.

The payments were part of a final rule on CFAP and other aid efforts released Jan. 11 and are expected to total $325 million.

Read more: Secure 2.0 Finally Arrives

Vilsack Lists USDA's 4 Policy Objectives for 2023

Wed, 11 Jan 2023 14:16:20 GMT

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack has a history of making key announcements during visits, and that was the case during his appearance at the American Farm Bureau Federation’s annual meeting in Puerto Rico.

Some of them include:

1. ERP Phase 2

Vilsack announced Phase 2 of the ERP, which will provide help to producers for production and quality losses of eligible crops, utilizing calculations of a producer’s decrease in gross revenue.

Those were about to be released months ago but were pulled back at the last minute due to lawmaker and farmer complaints. USDA eventually announced anyway.

USDA said in documentation on file at the Federal Register that using that approach will reflect the losses “without requiring the more extensive calculations and documentation required under previous programs” for disaster-related crop losses. USDA said this streamlines the aid to minimize the burden on producers and processing of applications by county FSA offices. Using that process also means it will address losses for a qualifying disaster event whether it happened before or after harvest.

ERP Phase 2 will be available for a decrease in gross revenue in 2020 or 2021, primarily to those with losses not covered by Federal Crop Insurance or the Noninsured Assistance Program (NAP).

The application period is Jan. 23-June 2. USDA has already paid out $7.31 billion under ERP Phase 1 as of Jan. 8, up from $7.28 billion the prior week, including $6.23 billion for non-specialty crops ($6.21 billion prior) and $1.09 billion for specialty crops ($1.08 billion prior). A total of $10 billion was earmarked for ERP.

USDA projects outlays for ERP Phase 2 payments will be $1.2 billion and will likely be pro-rated as USDA projects total gross outlays at $1.5 billion.

Phase 2 Reflection

Phase I was highly successful and it worked well. Phase 2 has tons of problems. Comparing schedule F in relevant years to past years doesn’t reflect losses. A farmer may have had to sell land or livestock when they didn’t want to. They may have sold a previous year’s crop in the year in question. These and other things skew the schedule F. There is also the issue of forcing farmers to share schedule F info with local FSA offices.

2. Pandemic Assistance Revenue Program (PARP)

Vilsack announced PARP payments for producers that suffered a 15% or greater decrease in allowable gross revenue for the 2020 calendar year compared with either 2018 or 2019. This effort, Vilsack said, aims to “fill in gaps” for losses covered by either Phase 1 or Phase 2 of ERP.

The payments will have a factor of 80% (90% for underserved farmers and ranchers) and will be reduced by 2020 ERP payments, and pandemic assistance under either the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) 1 or 2 and other pandemic aid.

Payments will be limited to $125,000 per person or entity and USDA may set a lower maximum payment amount per person if total payments exceed available funding and USDA expects that to be the case — PARP outlays are projected at $250 million with gross outlays pegged at $2.66 billion.

USDA also will expand payments under prior efforts such as CFAP 2 and others. The total payments USDA projects under the ERP Phase 2, PARP and expanded other programs is $1.82 billion with gross amounts at $4.54 billion.

3. U.S.-Made Fertilizer

USDA will seek public comment on 21 potentially viable projects totaling up to $88 million to boost U.S. fertilizer production via the first round of USDA’s Federal Production Expansion Program, a $500 million effort announced earlier this year.

The projects are in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin. USDA is seeking comments through Feb. 8 on the environmental impacts of the projects.

4. Meat and Poultry Processing

Vilsack announced three projects in Ohio, Michigan and Minnesota which will expand independent meat and poultry processing capacity via the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program.

The projects total $12 million and are in addition to other recently announced efforts in the sector.

More on policy:

We Have ERP Phase II
Policy and Payments: What Producers Can Expect in 2023

Policy and Payments: What Producers Can Expect in 2023

Thu, 05 Jan 2023 14:00:38 GMT

The calendar flip to 2023 signals a new Congress and, this year, a new farm bill. With that comes unpredictability. Jim Wiesemeyer, Pro Farmer policy analyst, lays out what could be ahead for ag policy in coming months.

Passing a Farm Bill

Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.), the new House Ag Committee Chairman, intends to hit the ground running on the farm bill as early as next week, with the first farm bill hearing taking place in his home state of Pennsylvania on Saturday.

“I think now the odds we could get a new farm bill this year because the sensitive issues such as climate change and food stamps weren’t totally settled in the omnibus spending bill ,” Wiesemeyer says.

Upon his election, Thompson said the committee will keep it’s “foot on the gas” to deliver a farm bill that will “prioritize” the needs of the farmers, ranchers and foresters.

The committee has six months to make headway on farm bill negotiations before Congressional recess starts in June.

Pandemic Assistance Programs Continue

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will also be busy aiding ag in 2023, as they formulate a plan to implement Phase Two of Emergency Relief Payments (ERP) .

Each Monday, the OMB releases an announcement to showcase how much funding has been dispersed through the phase. Phase Two will likely run on the same process, but have different operating components, according to Wiesemeyer.

“Farm groups still tell me, from the last thing they’ve heard from USDA, they won’t like how Phase Two operates,” he says. “We’ll see how this all plays out, pending any last-minute changes from USDA.”

According to Wiesemeyer, Phase One dispersal was slow and rocky, but the funding amount was plentiful.

Lock-In WOTUS

An official definition of Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) is also on the horizon in 2023, following an interim definition proposed by the EPA last week. However, the final ruling might not be what some had hoped.

Wiesemeyer says some analysts feel, following the interim proposal, the government now has more room to interpret the court’s WOTUS decision. He sees how this could be the government’s strategy.

“A number of lawmakers did not want the EPA to come out with any ruling on WOTUS, no matter if it was interim or not,” Wiesemeyer says. “But you know lawyers—once they think they have more flexibility, they’ll use it.”

More on policy :

4 Ways to Advocate for Ag in the New Farm Bill
EPA Releases New WOTUS Rule, with the Supreme Court Ruling Pending

What's in it for Ag in the New Spending Bill?

Wed, 28 Dec 2022 03:26:54 GMT

The House on Friday averted a government shutdown by voting 225 to 201 in favor of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. The $1.7 trillion omnibus bill includes 12 separate bills that cover everything from natural disasters to military pay to foreign aid.

Sanford Bishop Jr., ag, rural development and food and drug administration subcommittee chairman, says the bill is “crucial” to America’s economic success.

“These federal programs make our country a world leader in agriculture, ensure that we have safe, abundant food and medicine to lead healthy lives, support America’s farmers and ranchers, and provide Americans with the materials that clothe us and build our communities,” Bishop says.

Here are highlights of the key ag-sector funding from the omnibus:

Insurance

• Directs USDA to index all administrative and operating expense in the crop insurance program for inflation.

Research

• Agricultural research: Ag research funding will increase by $175 million to $3.45 billion in 2023, including monies for Agricultural Research Service, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, and Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program.

Conservation

• Includes the SUSTAINS Act, which allows corporations and other private entities to contribute funding for conservation projects and authorize USDA to match the donations.

• Reauthorizes the Pesticide Registration Improvement Act, which imposes fees for maintenance and registration of active ingredients. It boosts registration and maintenance fees 30% and allows EPA to raise fees by 5% in 2024 and 2026.

Infrastructure

• $1.48 billion is included on top of annual appropriations funding for the Army Corps of Engineers to make emergency repairs and navigation improvements needed after extreme weather events, including low water on the Mississippi River.

“One of the best returns on investment is when we pump money into our infrastructure, especially the great waterway system,” Jim Wiesemeyer, ProFarmer policy analyst told AgriTalk Host Chip Flory. “This town [Washington, D.C.] has had a mindset change on pumping more money, not only in the new projects, but restoring some of the water transportation endeavors of the past. It’s good news.”

Relief Aid

• $3.7 billion in farm disaster aid, to cover eligible 2022 crop and livestock losses, with $494.5 million to be used for livestock losses due to drought or wildfires, as part of overall $40.6 billion for disasters.

• Requires USDA to make a one-time payment to each rice producer on a U.S. farm in the 2022 crop year. USDA will determine payment rates based on yield history and acreage.

• Authorizes $100 million for the USDA to make pandemic assistance payments to cotton merchandisers that purchased cotton from a U.S. producer from March 1, 2020, through the measure’s enactment date.

• $25 million for specialty crop equitable relief.

Broadband

• USDA’s ReConnect loan and grant program for rural broadband will get $348 million for fiscal 2023.

Food Assistance

• Make permanent a summer EBT (food stamp) program to provide up to $40 a month per child. It allows grab-and-go or home delivery of meals to kids in rural areas as an alternative to meals in group settings Any summer meals benefits issued to a household in the summer of 2023 couldn’t exceed $120 per child. USDA will be required to establish a program beginning in the summer of 2024 and annually thereafter to issue EBT benefits to eligible households to ensure continued access to food when school isn’t in session in the summer.

• Aid for Food for Peace ($1.8 billion) and McGovern-Dole International Food for Education ($248 million) programs.

Carbon

• Includes the Growing Climate Solutions Act, which authorizes USDA to oversee the registration of farm technical advisers and carbon-credit verification services

Wiesemeyer says the swift passage of the spending package signals the coming farm bill might be easier to pass than some had previously thought, despite the new congress moving in next week.

“Congress put more than a few dollars in this for farm bill-related topics, especially food stamps and some of the climate change funding,” he says. “I think this really increases the odds that both the Senate and the house should get a new farm bill done in 2023.”

The bill will now move to President Biden’s desk, where he is expected to sign it this week.

More on policy :

4 Ways to Advocate for Ag in the New Farm Bill
U.S. Defense Spending Bill Leads to China Taking Aim at Taiwan

How the $1.7 Trillion Omnibus Spending Package Might Impact Your Operation

Tue, 20 Dec 2022 17:19:29 GMT

Text of the $1.7 trillion omnibus spending package was released early Tuesday morning. The Senate will vote first and intends to pass the measure before Thursday, leaving the House no time to demand changes before the Christmas holiday.

Here are the details that might impact your farm:

Disaster Relief

• $250 million in aid to rice producers and $100 million to cotton merchandisers to make up for losses related to the pandemic or supply chain disruptions. USDA previously provided $80 million in aid to textile mills and other cotton users. For rice, USDA would determine payment rates based on yield history and acreage.

• $40.6 billion for drought, hurricanes, flooding, wildfire, natural disasters and other matters — $3.7 billion in disaster aid for farmers to cover 2022 crop and livestock losses.

Food Aid

• Funds two programs that provide foreign food aid. These include the Food for Peace Program (PL 480), which is funded at $1.8 billion, and the McGovern-Dole International Food for Education Program, which is funded at $248 million, for an increase of $11 million over fiscal year 2022.

• Summer Meals Program Modernization: Updates the summer food service program to permanently allow states to provide non-congregate meals and summer electronic benefit (EBT) options nationwide to eligible children in addition to meals provided at congregate feeding sites. Non-congregate meals, such as grab-and-go or home delivery, would be provided in rural areas to eligible children, and summer EBT benefits would be capped at $40 per child per month. This provision is fully offset and based largely on the Hunger-Free Summer for Kids Act, which Boozman authored and introduced earlier this Congress.

• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) EBT Skimming Regulations and Reimbursement: Requires USDA to coordinate with relevant agencies and stakeholders to investigate reports of stolen SNAP benefits through card skimming, cloning and other similar fraudulent methods. This provision aims to identify the extent of the problem, develop methods to prevent fraud and improve security measures, and provide replacement of benefits stolen through these fraudulent actions.

Conservation

• Cracks down on “conservation easements,” which allow tax breaks when land is dedicated for conservation purposes. The IRS has identified the transactions as a method for avoiding taxes. The conservation easement provision was expected to raise between $6 billion and $7 billion.

• SUSTAINS Act: Enacts a House bill that allows corporations and other private entities to contribute funding for conservation projects and authorizes USDA to match up to 75% in matching the donations.

Inputs

• Pesticide Registration Improvement Act (PRIA 5) Reauthorization: Reauthorizes pesticide registration and review process user-fee programs administered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and increases registration and maintenance fees to support a more predictable regulatory process, create additional process improvements, and provide resources for safety, training, bilingual labeling, and other services to advance the safe and effective use of pesticides.

• Pesticide Registration Review Deadline Extension: Extends deadline for EPA to complete registration review decisions for all pesticide products registered as of October 1, 2007. EPA is facing a significant backlog of pesticide registrations due to a variety of factors over the past several years, which raises potential implications for continued access to numerous crop protection tools. The agency will be allowed to continue its registration review work through October 1, 2026, as a result of this extension.

Climate

• Growing Climate Solutions Act: Incorporates updated language from the Growing Climate Solutions Act, which directs USDA to establish a program to register entities that provide technical assistance and verification for farmers, ranchers and foresters who participate in voluntary carbon markets with the goal of providing information and confidence to producers.

Farm Business

• $1.92 billion for farm programs, which is $55 million above the fiscal year 2022 enacted level. This includes $61 million to resolve ownership and succession of farmland issues, also known as heirs’ property issues. This funding will continue support for various farm, conservation, and emergency loan programs, and help American farmers and ranchers. It will also meet estimates of demand for farm loan programs.

• Funding for specialty crops and remarks on crop insurance/A&O. Some $25 million is being made available for specialty crop equitable relief and report language directing USDA to use its legal authority to index all A&O (crop insurance program) for inflation and provide equitable relief for specialty crops going forward.

Livestock

• Livestock Mandatory Reporting Extension (LMR) Extension: Extends livestock mandatory reporting requirements until September 30, 2023. LMR requires meat packers and importers to report the prices they pay for cattle, hogs, and sheep purchased for slaughter and prices received for meats derived from such species to USDA who then publishes daily, weekly, and monthly public reports detailing these transactions.

Markets

• Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Whistleblower Program Extension: Enables CFTC to continue payment of salaries, customer education initiatives and non-awards expenses related to the whistleblower program to ensure it can continue to function even when awards obligated to whistleblowers exceed the program fund’s balance at the time of distribution.

Some ag sector items that did NOT make the omnibus package:

Nothing for the proposed farmworker labor reforms from Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) and others. The bill also left out legislation to reform cattle markets or appoint a special investigator at USDA to investigate possible anti-competitive behavior in the meatpacking sector.

We’ll be updating this article as more details become available.

More on policy :

Water Resources Bill Reauthorized with a Component that Will Impact Producers
European Union Clinches a Deal on a Carbon Border Tax
U.S.'s “Candid” GMO Corn Conversation With Mexico Results In Changes To Looming Trade Dispute
Senate Clears Annual Defense Policy, Pushing $858 Billion to Military

USDA Announces Phase 2 of ERP Along With New Aid Opportunities

Thu, 17 Nov 2022 15:05:21 GMT

USDA announced the launch of Phase 2 of its Emergency Relief Program (ERP) with Phase 1 paying out $7.15 billion to eligible producers.

Who Qualifies for ERP Phase 2?

Phase 2 is targeted to those who suffered losses in 2020 and 2021 but may not have received any payments under Phase 1 for losses in allowable gross revenue for traditionally insurable crops and specialty crops intended to be commercially marketed.

The payments will be based on the difference in farm revenue between a typical year and the disaster year and are to avoid windfall or duplicate payments.

USDA said that the signup deadline for Phase 1 ERP, which was previously extended indefinitely, will now be set to Dec. 16.

Can You Defer ERP Payments?

As you’ll recall from Paul Neiffer’s article , only certain ERP payments can be deferred.

According to Neiffer, if the payment relates directly to damage occurred in 2021, then the payment can’t be deferred until 2023. But if the damage if really for the crop that was harvested in 2022 and damage was for drought during the growing period, then it should be able to be deferred.

As a reminder, here are the three requirements to defer crop insurance proceeds:

• Farmer is on the cash method of accounting (almost all are),
• Farmer normally reports more than 50% of total sales in the year after harvest (most do), and
• The farmer can only defer to the year after the damage was incurred

The last item is what blows up any ability to defer Phase 1 payments. These payments are for damage that occurred in 2020 and 2021. 2022 is the latest you could defer 2021 payments and since you collected them this year, you are stuck with reporting these payments in 2022.

More Payment Opportunities

USDA also mentioned the new Pandemic Assistance Revenue Program (PARP) will be available to help those with ag commodities that saw revenue declines in calendar 2020 compared with 2018 or 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The agency said PARP is aimed at addressing “gaps in previous pandemic assistance which was targeted at price loss or lack of market access, rather than overall revenue.”

Under PARP, USDA says producers will use revenue information available from “most tax records,” and urged producers to have those documents available for the past few years along with supporting materials.

According to USDA, the documentation is similar to what producers had to provide for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 2 (CFAP 2) effort which allowed for 2018 or 2019 to be used as the benchmark year.

More on ag business:

Can You Defer 2022 ERP?
Paul Neiffer: When Can Inflation Help You?

$670 Million Awarded by USDA to Farm, Meatpacking and Grocery Workers for their 'Essential Role' in U.S. Food Systems During Pandemic

Wed, 05 Oct 2022 19:37:10 GMT

USDA announced 15 groups will get $670 million in funds to farm and meatpacking workers that were negatively impacted during the pandemic, incurring expenses via the outbreak as they were deemed essential workers.

The funds would amount to $600 per person and start in the fall, USDA said. $20 million was also earmarked for a pilot program that would recognize the efforts of grocery workers.

The aim is to defray some of the costs incurred by workers relative to personal protective equipment, child care, and expenses for testing and quarantining.

Farm/meatpacking and grocery worker pilot program grant recipients:

(Farm Journal)

“Please note that payments are not yet available and each organization may have application periods that begin at different times,” said USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service.

However, according to the announcement, these workers should be given the money from their organizations this fall.

Employers Qualify for Tax Credit to Offset COVID-19 Paid Time Off

Thu, 22 Sep 2022 00:57:07 GMT

At this point in the pandemic, most employers have received a phone call that goes something like this. “Hi Boss, I was exposed to COVID-19. Do you want me to come in?” And in that moment, you run through 14,000 questions in your mind. Can we cover his or her schedule? Who had this person worked with before they knew they had been exposed? Can we afford to pay them for time spent at home? While those thoughts are going through your mind, your employee is worried about getting paid for required time off.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) signed into law on March 18, 2020 provides that eligible employees are entitled to paid sick time because of COVID-19, and employers are eligible for a tax credit to offset the expense.

Who qualifies as an eligible employee, how much time do they get and at what rate? Under the FFCRA, employees are entitled to:

a. Up to 80 hours of paid sick leave at the employee’s regular rate of pay (up to a maximum of $511 per day) where the employee is unable to work because the employee is quarantined pursuant to government order, is advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine and/or experiencing COVID-19 symptoms and seeking a medical diagnosis; or

b. Up to 80 hours of paid sick leave at two-thirds the employee’s regular rate of pay (up to a maximum of $200 per day) because the employee must care for an individual subject to quarantine (pursuant to government order or advice of a health care provider), or to care for a child (under 18 years of age) whose school or child care provider is closed or unavailable for reasons related to COVID-19.

What is the tax credit for employers? The FFCRA provides eligible employers with payroll tax credits to cover 100% of the qualified sick leave wages and qualified family leave wages paid from April 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020.

The FFCRA payroll tax credit includes:

1) Qualified sick leave wages;

2) Qualified family wages;

3) Qualified health plan expenses; and

4) Medicare tax credit.

According to an advisory from tax accountancy CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA), qualified sick leave wages are wages an eligible employer is required to pay under FFCRA for paid sick leave. Qualified family leave wages are wages an eligible employer is required to pay under FFCRA for expanded family and medical leave.

The tax credits can be claimed three ways:

1. On the Form 941, Employer’s QUARTERLY Federal Tax Return;

2. Offsetting Federal employment tax deposits for the quarter (the employer must account for the reduction in deposits on the Form 941 for the quarter); or

3. Filing Form 7200, Advance Payment of Employer Credits Due to COVID-19.

CLA shares this example of how the claims process works.

Employer pays $15,000 in qualified sick leave wages and qualified family leave wages during the 3rd quarter of 2020. The employer is required to deposit $18,000 in Federal employment taxes (including taxes withheld from its employees) for the 3rd quarter of 2020. The employer may keep up to $15,000 of the $18,000 of taxes the employer was going to deposit but is required to deposit the remaining $3,000 on its required deposit date. The employer will account for the $15,000 when it files its Form 941 for the 3rd quarter of 2020.

For more information, including extended family and medical leave details included in the FFCRA contact your accountant.

Spot Market Hog Pandemic Program Payments Begin This Week

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 17:57:21 GMT

USDA is increasing the amount of funding available for the Spot Market Hog Pandemic Program (SMHPP) and expects to issue approximately $62.8 million in pandemic assistance payments to hog producers starting this week.

“We appreciate FSA’s commitment to providing assistance to those pork producers hit hard by the economic disruptions caused by the pandemic,” Terry Wolters, National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) president and owner of Stoney Creek Farms in Pipestone, Minn., said in a statement. “Producers forced into spot market hog sales are still challenged by the market disruptions of COVID-19, and these funds will contribute to the ongoing recovery of the U.S. pork industry.”

SMHPP assists eligible producers who sold hogs through a spot market sale from April 16, 2020, through Sept. 1, 2020. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) accepted SMHPP applications through April 29, 2022.

“In order to provide more targeted support to hog producers affected by the pandemic, FSA was able to increase funding for SMHPP to provide full payments to producers instead of applying a payment factor,” FSA Administrator Zach Ducheneaux said in a release . “We are pleased to be able to provide more equitable opportunities for hog producers who were hard-hit by the pandemic.”

USDA explained that SMHPP payments will be calculated by multiplying the number of head of eligible hogs, not to exceed 10,000 head, by the payment rate of $54 per head. FSA originally planned to apply a payment factor if calculated payments exceeded the allocated $50 million in pandemic assistance funds for SMHPP, USDA noted.

Payments are not expected to be factored due to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack’s decision to increase funding enabling producers to receive 100% of the calculated SMHPP payment. There is no per person or legal entity payment limitation on SMHPP payments.

Read More:

Spot Market Hog Pandemic Program Eligibility Broadened

Frustrated Pork Producers Raise Questions About Spot Market Hog Pandemic Program

Vilsack Announces $2B in Funding to Transform U.S. Food System

Thu, 02 Jun 2022 00:38:43 GMT

Transforming the U.S. food system by improving supply chains and addressing issues exposed by the Covid-19 pandemic will be detailed today by USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack during a speech at Georgetown University.

The over $2 billion package includes previously announced funding to expand meat and poultry processing and to finance new infrastructure such as cold storage facilities, but there $600 million in new aid to support food supply chain infrastructure outside meat processing. The plan also includes $400 million for regional food business centers, up to $300 million for a new organic transition initiative and $75 million to support urban agriculture.

The initiatives are funded through the American Rescue Plan that was enacted in March 2021 and other relief legislation. On Thursday, Vilsack will be in Ohio with Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur to visit a full-service grocery store in central Toledo called Market on the Green.

The package includes $650 million in funding and loan assistance for meat and poultry processing projects, including $275 million to help entrepreneurs who have had trouble getting credit. Another $100 million would go toward training workers in meat processing. Another $600 million is earmarked for improving food supply chain infrastructure, including cold storage and refrigerated trucks, outside of meat and processing.

Other funding in the plan includes:

$200 million to help fruit and vegetable growers comply with food safety regulations.
$400 million to create regional food business centers that will provide coordination and technical assistance and other support to small and mid-size businesses involved in processing, distribution and aggregation.
$155 million to expand USDA’s Healthy Food Financing Initiative, which is aimed at reducing food deserts.
$90 million to prevent and reduce food loss and waste.
$60 million farm-to-school programs that increase markets for smaller-scale farmers through child nutrition programs.

The announcement comes as supermarkets and distributors are pushing back on higher prices from food makers, as escalating inflation drives more consumers to rethink their spending. The Wall Street Journal reports ( link ) that Kroger Co. and other grocery chains said they are asking brands to prove why higher prices are necessary before accepting them, and warning manufacturers that they will stop carrying products if food companies won’t negotiate prices. Some companies said they are switching to new meat suppliers with cheaper products and are delaying price changes for items like canned goods.

Retailers generally have been passing price increases along to consumers, and executives have said that for months shopper demand has remained strong. Industry executives said that is starting to change, as consumers increasingly look for ways to stretch their dollars.

Time is Ticking on the 2021 Policy Clock

Tue, 28 Dec 2021 14:30:24 GMT

The House and Senate are on recess this week, but work is ramping back up to finalize 2021 legislation before the New Year begins.

Build Back Better

Last week, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said he cannot support the House-passed version of the $1.75 trillion social spending package that would have extended child tax credits and provided new subsidies for childcare, preschool, and elder care.

“My Democratic colleagues in Washington are determined to dramatically reshape our society in a way that leaves our country even more vulnerable to the threats we face,” Manchin issued in a statement. “I cannot take that risk with a staggering debt of more than $29 trillion and inflation taxes that are real and harmful to every hard-working American at the gasoline pumps, grocery stores and utility bills with no end in sight.”

Pro Farmer policy analyst Jim Wiesemeyer doesn’t know “how and when the bill will pass,” but believes the BBB will go through once it has been scaled-back to remove items like childcare credits that he thinks will be included in separate bills.

WHIP+

AgriTalk hosted USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack in late November to discuss the House passage of the BBB. In the episode, Vilsack said the$10 billion Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus (WHIP+) payments could be sent by the end of 2021.

Wiesemeyer says WHIP+ is the “worst implemented program” he’s seen come from the Farm Service Agency (FSA) due to the delayed payout. He does, however, see these payments hitting bank accounts by early 2022.

As it stands, the $10 billion in disaster assistance will include:

• $9.25 billion in disaster assistance to aid producers who suffered losses due to droughts, hurricanes, wildfires, floods and other qualifying disasters. The funding will extend WHIP+ to cover losses in calendar years 2020 and 2021.
• $750 million for livestock producers for losses incurred during 2021 due to drought or wildfire. This disaster assistance, the first specifically for livestock producers since 2008, will build on top of existing farm bill programs for livestock producers.

Details on the USDA’s plan and timeline for distribution have not yet been released.

USDA Just Announced Relief for Hog Producers Impacted by Pandemic; Here's Who Qualifies

Thu, 16 Dec 2021 02:01:13 GMT

The USDA released the Spot Market Hog Pandemic Program (SMHPP) this week to provide additional funds for hog farmers who sold pigs on the spot market between April 16, 2020 and September 1, 2020.

This assistance is only for hog producers who sold pigs on the spot market and not under a contract. The payment will be equal to $54 per pig times the number of eligible pigs not to exceed 10,000 pigs. Therefore, the maximum payment will be $540,000. The good news is that there is no per person or per entity payment limit. However, the normal $900,000 average AGI limit does apply to both the entity and each owner in the entity.

The application period begins December 15 and ends February 25, 2022.

The producer must of have owned the pigs and not been a contract grower and sold the hogs through a negotiated sale contract during that period. Contract producers, packers, and hog purchase types including other market formula, swine or pork market formula, other purchase arrangements, and packer owned are not eligible for SMHPP.

Breeding stock is also not eligible.

These payments are taxable income and can’t be deferred to 2023 if received in 2022. A Form CCC-1099-G will be issued by USDA reporting the amount of payments received under this program.

USDA may require to you to provide supporting documents such as negotiated sales agreement, veterinarian records, feeding records, inventory records, etc. to back up your claim.

USDA is still “mulling” whether to provide an additional top-up payment for all hog producers. We will keep you posted on this topic.

USDA Not on Track to Hit $16 Billion in CFAP Payments

Wed, 03 Nov 2021 20:44:39 GMT

As commodity prices continue to reel the impacts of COVID-19 on demand and market prices, Coronavirus Food Assistance Payments (CFAP) continue to roll out.

🔥🦠As of July 20 $6.2B out of a possible $16B in #CFAP #COVID relief funds have been paid to #agricultural #farmers w/ #cattle $2.7B #milk $1.3B #corn $1.1B #hogs $394M #soybeans $314M #cotton $156M #amonds $43M = 96% total pmts @FarmBureau pic.twitter.com/SR1tdcayyG
— John Newton (@New10_AgEcon) July 21, 2020

According to American Farm Bureau Federation , as of July 20, USDA had made $6.2 billion out of a possible $16B in CFAP payments. The largest chunk went to cattle producers, totaling $2.7 billion, followed by dairy at $1.3 billion in payments. The third largest sector to receive payments is corn farmers, receiving a total of $1.3 billion so far.

The projected $16 billion in CFAP may help cushion some of the projected losses in 2020 net farm income, but Pat Westhoff, an economist with University of Missouri’s Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute (FAPRI) is now casting doubt. He says based on the current status of CFAP payments, he doesn’t think USDA will hit $16 billion.

“Whether that’s an issue with program design, or with people who are applying, I know frankly don’t know, but it is one that is definitely grabbing our attention,” Westhoff says. “If we were forced to have a new [net farm income] snapshot today, we would probably assume something less than $16 billion those payments being made.”

Currently, FAPRI’s projections released in May showed net farm income falling slightly in 2020. The lower net farm income projection was even with the $16 billion in CFAP payments.

“If you look at our own estimates for the month of May Based on conditions at that time, we were expecting that net farm income will be off a little bit this year, in spite of $16 billion in CFAP payments, and you’ll have significantly larger cuts in 2021,” Westhoff says. “For this year, if things played out the way we were projecting back a month or two ago, it’s a difficult situation, obviously, for a lot of producers in a lot of places, but the sector as a whole was not seeing perhaps as severe of a crisis as we once thought, given all the payments that are going out the door.”

Westhoff says he’s not ruling out more aid to be announced this year, as stimulus is currently being debated in Congress. He says it’s just a matter of whether any future aid will be prescribed by Congress or USDA.

Early Exclusive: Farmer Mac’s “The Feed”

As portions of agriculture fight to be included in the next round of stimulus, current ag programs are helping soften the market losses spurred by COVID. An early exclusive of “The Feed” from Farmer Mac shows if government payments hit the amounts projected when the programs were released, the amount of government support that makes up farmers’ take home pay will be historically high this year.

In an early exclusive of Farmer Mac’s summer edition of The Feed, Jackson Takach, lead author and chief economist at Farmer Mac, told Farm Journal the average farm take home pay is $100 billion per year.

“We take home about $100 billion dollars once you paid for all your cash expenses and made some adjustments for some of the non-cash expenses. It’s about $100 billion, that’s a that’s a way to think of it,” he says.

This year, more than a third of farmers’ take-home pay will be from government programs, including CFAP, he adds.

“This year alone, CFAP is designed to deliver $16 billion, plus you had a little bit of MFP leftover so that’s another $4 billion,” he says. “We’re looking at right around $20 billion just in that one block of what you could consider sort ad hoc programs. That doesn’t even include crop insurance subsidies and other programs that are designed to offset lower prices. So, you’re talking about a 30 to 40% of take-home pay being delivered through government programs, and historically, that’s a very high number.”

Sign up to receive the full edition of “The Feed” here.

CFAP Signup Starts Next Week

Wed, 03 Nov 2021 20:10:23 GMT

Pro Farmer Policy Analyst Jim Wiesemeyer give details of CFAP signup on Farm Journal Live. Watch in the player above.

President Donald Trump and USDA released the long-awaited rules for direct payments under the Coronavirus Food Aid Program (CFAP) at the White House Tuesday, saying enrollment will start next week with initial payments to follow the week after.

USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue had announced earlier an intention to modify payment limits under the program. The rule announced Tuesday eliminates the $125,000 per commodity limit but keeps the $250,000 per recipient limit on payments. USDA will only pay out 80% of the maximum direct payment initially, reserving the remaining 20% in case funding for the program runs out. The remainder of the CFAP payment will be made at a later date. USDA did not indicate when those second tranche payments would be made.

Details of program payments provided by USDA:

Non-Specialty Crops and Wool

Non-specialty crops eligible for CFAP payments include malting barley, canola, corn, upland cotton, millet, oats, soybeans, sorghum, sunflowers, durum wheat, and hard red spring wheat. Wool is also eligible. Producers will be paid based on inventory subject to price risk held as of January 15, 2020. A payment will be made based 50 percent of a producer’s 2019 total production or the 2019 inventory as of January 15, 2020, whichever is smaller, multiplied by the commodity’s applicable payment rates.

Livestock

Livestock eligible for CFAP include cattle, lambs, yearlings and hogs. The total payment will be calculated using the sum of the producer’s number of livestock sold between January 15 and April 15, 2020, multiplied by the payment rates per head, and the highest inventory number of livestock between April 16 and May 14, 2020, multiplied by the payment rate per head.

Dairy

For dairy, the total payment will be calculated based on a producer’s certification of milk production for the first quarter of calendar year 2020 multiplied by a national price decline during the same quarter. The second part of the payment is based a national adjustment to each producer’s production in the first quarter.

Specialty Crops

For eligible specialty crops, the total payment will be based on the volume of production sold between January 15 and April 15, 2020; the volume of production shipped, but unpaid; and the number of acres for which harvested production did not leave the farm or mature product destroyed or not harvested during that same time period, and which have not and will not be sold. Specialty crops include, but are not limited to, almonds, beans, broccoli, sweet corn, lemons, iceberg lettuce, spinach, squash, strawberries and tomatoes. A full list of eligible crops can be found on farmers.gov/cfap. Additional crops may be deemed eligible at a later date.

Eligibility

There is a payment limitation of $250,000 per person or entity for all commodities combined. Applicants who are corporations, limited liability companies or limited partnerships may qualify for additional payment limits where members actively provide personal labor or personal management for the farming operation. Producers will also have to certify they meet the Adjusted Gross Income limitation of $900,000 unless at least 75 percent or more of their income is derived from farming, ranching or forestry-related activities. Producers must also be in compliance with Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation provisions.

Applying for Assistance

Producers can apply for assistance beginning on May 26, 2020. Additional information and application forms can be found at farmers.gov/cfap . Producers of all eligible commodities will apply through their local FSA office. Documentation to support the producer’s application and certification may be requested. FSA has streamlined the signup process to not require an acreage report at the time of application and a USDA farm number may not be immediately needed. Applications will be accepted through August 28, 2020.

Payment Structure

To ensure the availability of funding throughout the application period, producers will receive 80 percent of their maximum total payment upon approval of the application. The remaining portion of the payment, not to exceed the payment limit, will be paid at a later date as funds remain available.

USDA Service Centers are open for business by phone appointment only, and field work will continue with appropriate social distancing. While program delivery staff will continue to come into the office, they will be working with producers by phone and using online tools whenever possible. All Service Center visitors wishing to conduct business with the FSA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, or any other Service Center agency are required to call their Service Center to schedule a phone appointment. More information can be found at farmers.gov/coronavirus .

Are CFAP Funds Running Out? Biofuels, Pork Producers Questioning If and When They'll Get Paid

Wed, 01 Sep 2021 17:51:59 GMT

The future of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) is unclear as biofuels groups and pork producers are questioning when and if they’ll get paid. As USDA continues to divvy out the COVID-19 relief funds for agriculture, reports show that funding may be nearly gone.

Pro Farmer Washington Correspondent Jim Wiesemeyer says USDA’s COVID aid bucket is near empty, with sectors like biofuels and top-up payments for hog farmers still in question.

“Following a revamped COVID relief program announcement in March, USDA has committed $8.75 billion in assistance to farmers and ranchers, including $750 million for the dairy sector and up to $1 billion for contract growers of pigs and poultry,” reports Wiesemeyer “USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on July 13 an estimated $50 million to livestock and poultry producers forced to cull their animals when COVID-19 outbreaks temporarily slowed or shuttered slaughterhouses.”

Unfinished Business

Wiesemeyer says only a few items remain as unfinished business when it comes to COVID-19 relief for agriculture, including the $700 million for biofuels.

“In mid-June, the USDA earmarked $700 million for biofuel producers and said it would act in the next 60 days on ‘support to timber harvesters, biofuels, dairy farmers and processors, livestock farmers and contract growers of poultry, assistance for organic cost share and grants for PPE (personal protective equipment).’”

It’s not just biofuels. Wiesemeyer points out the recent top-up payments to hog farmers, which are calculated at $17 per head, are also left unpaid.

“That has been the subject of an intense quarrel among some in the U.S. hog sector, with a Canadian hog producer chastising the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) for not doing enough to get the payments announced,” says Wiesemeyer. “Vilsack recently said, ‘We’ll target future assistance, rather than top-up or across-the-board actions that don’t account for actual losses or payments that have already been received.’ Initially, USDA included a halt to the payouts via a regulatory freeze during the change in administrations. Farm-state lawmakers periodically urged USDA to make the payments Two House Republicans said this week, ‘Unfortunately, USDA has given no indication on if or when these payments will be made.’”

Wiesemeyer says calculations show $24.4 billion has been paid through the CFAP since May 2020, which is when payments began.

USDA Rolls Out Updates to CFAP2, Changes for Contract Livestock and Specialty Crop Producers

Wed, 25 Aug 2021 16:40:28 GMT

USDA announced updates and additions to the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program 2 (CFAP 2), with the biggest revisions occurring for contract producers of pork, poultry and other eligible livestock, as well as specialty crop producers who grow on a contract basis. Grass seed growers were also added as eligible for the CFAP2 program.

The agency set a deadline of October 12 for producers to sign up or make modifications to existing applications.

Below are highlights from Pro Farmer Washington Correspondent Jim Wiesemeyer.

Contract grower aid: CFAP 2 payments for eligible contract producers of broilers, pullets, layers, chicken eggs, turkeys, and hogs and pigs, with ducks, geese, pheasants and quail produced under contract also eligible commodities, along with breeding stock of eligible livestock and eggs of all eligible poultry types raised by contract producers.

Contract grower payments were originally to be based on a comparison of eligible revenue for the periods of Jan. 1-Dec. 27, 2019, and Jan. 1-Dec. 27, 2020. With the changes, contract producers can now use eligible revenue from the period of Jan. 1-Dec. 27, 2018, instead of the 2019 date range “if it is more representative,” USDA said.

USDA said the shift is aimed at making the program more flexible and equitable for contract growers who had reduced revenue in 2019 versus a normal production year. The revenue difference will be multiplied by 80% to figure a final payment. “Payments to contract producers may be factored if total calculated payments exceed the available funding and will be made after the application period closes,” USDA said. The COVID aid plan approved included $1 billion for payments to contract growers.

USDA also announced additional flexibilities for those that increased the size of their operation in 2020 and did not have a full period of revenue for the Jan. 1-Dec. 27 period in either 2018 or 2019. USDA said that assistance is also now available to new contract producers who began their farming operation in 2020.

Changes for sales-based commodities: USDA is amending the CFAP 2 payment calculation for sales-based commodities — primarily specialty crops — to allow producers to substitute 2018 sales for 2019 sales. Previously, payments for sales-based commodities were based only on 2019 sales, with 2019 used as an approximation of the amount the producer would have expected to market in 2020. Producers can now use 2018 sales for this approximation, including 2018 crop insurance indemnities and 2018 crop year Noninsured Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) and Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program Plus (WHIP+) payments.

USDA: More Pandemic Assistance for Dairy Farmers, Biofuel Producers, Specialty Crop Growers and Livestock Producers

Thu, 24 Jun 2021 18:53:05 GMT

USDA is continuing its rollout of aid to segments of the agriculture industry impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today, June 15, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced additional aid to agricultural producers and businesses as part of the USDA Pandemic Assistance for Producers initiative. Since January, USDA has allocated $11 billion to producers and food and ag business.

This new round of funds will focus on a number of gaps and disparities in previous rounds of aid, according to Vilsack. As part of the Pandemic Assistance initiative announced in March, USDA pledged to continue Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) payments and to provide aid to producers and businesses left behind.

“USDA is honoring its commitment to get financial assistance to producers and critical agricultural businesses, especially those left out or underserved by previous COVID aid,” Vilsack said in a news release. “These investments through USDA Pandemic Assistance will help our food, agriculture and forestry sectors get back on track and plan for the future.”

The following programming is planned for implementation within 60 days:

Support for dairy farmers and processors:
- $400 million: The new Dairy Donation Program to address food insecurity and mitigate food waste and loss
- Additional pandemic payments targeted to dairy farmers that have demonstrated losses that have not been covered by previous pandemic assistance
- Approximately $580 million: Supplemental Dairy Margin Coverage for small and medium farms
Assistance for poultry and livestock producers left out of previous rounds of pandemic assistance:
- Contract growers of poultry
- Livestock and poultry producers forced to euthanize animals during the pandemic (March 1, 2020 through December 26, 2020)
$700 million: Pandemic Response and Safety Grants for PPE and other protective measures to help specialty crop growers, meat packers and processors, seafood industry workers, among others
Up to $20 million: Additional organic cost share assistance, including for producers who are transitioning to organic
$700 million: Biofuels producers
$200 million: Small, family-owned timber harvesting and hauling businesses

USDA announced the aid Tuesday amid reports the administration is considering ways to give relief to oil refiners on requirements they mix ethanol and other biofuels with fuel, a step fought by groups representing Midwestern farmers, according to Farm Journal Washington Correspondent Jim Wiesemeyer. Vilsack declined to comment on the reports, citing the Environmental Protection Agency’s jurisdiction over the program.

The aid comes from funding earmarked for agricultural producers in the $1.9 trillion Biden Covid-19 relief package Congress passed in March. The funding associated with USDA Pandemic Assistance is meant to serve as a bridge from disruptions associated with the pandemic to longer-term investments to help build back a better food system, according to USDA. Through USDA’s Build Back Better initiative, USDA has already announced $5 billion in a mix of loans, grants and financing.

Since USDA rolled out the Pandemic Assistance initiative in March, the Department has announced approximately $6.8 billion in assistance to producers and agriculture entities through the following programs:

$6.295 billion: Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) payments to farmers, ranchers and producers (March 24th)
$35 million: Value Added Producer Grants (March 5th)
$169.9 million: Specialty Crop Block Grants (April 13th)
$75 million: Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (April 13th)
$37.5 million: Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (April 13th)
$80 million: Payments to Domestic Users of Cotton (April 13th)
$92.2 million: Local Agriculture Market Program (May 5th)
Approximately $20 Million: Pandemic Cover Crop Program (June 1st)

Read the USDA news release .

Ag Commissioner Sues Biden Administration Claiming American Rescue Plan Discriminates Against White Farmers

Fri, 30 Apr 2021 21:53:20 GMT

The nearly $2 trillion stimulus known as The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 is already facing a lawsuit over its provisions targeting farmers of color.

The Texas Tribune reports Texas Ag Commissioner Sid Miller has filed a personal lawsuit against the federal government. He says the COVID relief plan discriminates against some white farmers and ranchers because it offered targeted relief to “socially disadvantaged” farmers and ranchers, which the plan defines as people of color.

The plan designates roughly $5 billion for things such as loan repayments and program awareness. Miller’s complaint against USDA says the definition in the program fails to include “white ethnic groups that have unquestionably suffered” because of ethnicity, such as those of Irish, Italian, German, Jewish and eastern European heritage.

The lawsuit is seeking class action status.

Carbon Goal Will Create Undue Hardships For Farmers, Congressman Says

Wed, 17 Mar 2021 19:11:56 GMT

The goal for the U.S. to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, as it currently is proposed, will create undue hardships for rural Americans and, specifically, farmers, according to U.S. Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA, 8th District).

Scott, who is a member of both the House Ag Committee and the House Committee on Armed Services, shared his opinions on the goal during last week’s agriculture subcommittee hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives. The hearing was a result of the proposal, which was announced by House Democrats on June 30.

“The first thing that we need to understand is that the people that are driving the agenda on the left, the Environmental Defense Fund and others, do not like production agriculture,” Scott told AgriTalk Host Chip Flory on Tuesday. “If they had their way, everything would be small organic farms.”

Scott noted that one Georgia farmer who was part of the hearing last week does use organic production practices, which Scott said usually results in higher priced food products.

“I would tell the American citizens that he sells a small chicken for $20.99 on his website and four dozen eggs for $30,” Scott said. “There’s a certain segment of America that is extremely wealthy and is capable of paying those prices. But if you want to walk into the grocery store and buy a rotisserie chicken for $6, then you need to understand the end result of these environmental policies that they want to apply to the farm is the end of that $6 rotisserie chicken.”

Flory interjected that he believes organic farming enterprises are viable options today in some scenarios. “If consumers want to buy the products, and producers can fill the demand and make a premium, good for them,” he said.

Flory added that his challenge is, “I don’t see how organic and sustainability go together—not a $20 chicken.”

Scott replied that he is keenly focused on profitability, which he views as a key part of sustainability.

“I’m from the South and from the farm, and I recognize if the bills don’t get paid then the tractor doesn’t run in the fields,” he said. “If there are (sustainable production practices) that are cost-effective, farmers will do those things—we just don’t want to mandate those things from Washington D.C.”

More of Scott’s comments during the AgriTalk segment are available here:

In his statements before the subcommittee last week, Scott added that he is prepared to work in a bipartisan manner to improve upon current programs and find new solutions to climate issues. “However, I will not support an extreme climate agenda that fails to consider that rural Americans will have to shoulder the burden of these staff proposals.”

Scott said he is sensitive to farmers’ current economic plight and that his district still struggles as result of Hurricane Michael, which swept through southwest Georgia in October of 2018. The storm caused more than $2.5 billion in losses to the state’s agriculture industry, according to estimates from University of Georgia Cooperative Extension economists.

“We lost a tremendous amount of capital, due to natural disaster,” Scott said. “Production has been good (since then), but the prices… quite honestly, if the yields aren’t record yields, we’re still upside down. There’s no margin left.”

Scott said he is advocating for another round of Market Facilitation Program (MFP) assistance to farmers and ranchers.

“Let’s be honest…MFP is not the long-term solution to the crisis we have in farming country right now,” Scott said. “But we have got to get the value of our products high enough so that good farmers can make their bills if they’re doing their jobs, and we’re not there right now.”

Flory added that he believes the ongoing pandemic has exposed some of the vulnerabilities in the supply chain. He also asked Scott about his concerns regarding foreign ownership of some parts of the U.S. food supply.

“It’s not just foreign ownership—it’s them injecting things into our food supply that concerns me,” Scott said. “You’ve got African swine flu out there in China and other parts of the world. We have to protect our food supply from those invasive diseases and invasive species.

“We’ve seen now where people are receiving packets of seed from China that are unmarked and that they didn’t order,” he adds. “Certainly, if you look at what the python has done to the Florida Everglades and the destruction of that habitat, we have to be very careful in this country of what we bring into our country and the damage that it can do to our food supply, and we don’t talk enough about that.”

U.S. Warns Against Planting Unsolicited Seeds from China

Senate Releases New Stimulus Bill

Additional Guidance on Senate Proposals

CoBank: COVID-19 Will Continue To Steer Economy In 2021

Tue, 22 Dec 2020 17:52:19 GMT

A new report from CoBank details 10 key factors driving and shaping the economy in 2021. There is one big factor that weighs heaviest on the pace for economic recovery—the speed and reach of the COVID-19 vaccinations. CoBank expects that as the vaccine is distributed more broadly, the latter half of 2021 will show stronger consumer demand.

“The coming year will be a recovery year for most Americans and the businesses that make up the U.S. economy,” said Dan Kowalski, vice president of CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange division. “The early part of the year should look very different than the latter, but in total, economic growth is estimated to be about 4%, following a retreat of roughly 4% in 2020.”

We march through the final days of 2020, here are those 10 factors to watch in 2021:

1. Global Economy: Uneven Recovery Ahead

CoBank economists say COVID-10 will steer the global economy in 2021 and the pandemic will continue the trend of uneven economy recovery. It’s noted China has recovered fastest from the pandemic, and Europe has suffered the most. The pandemic’s long-tail will be the government debt around the world.

From CoBank: “Our confidence in GDP forecasts has increased since mid-2020, but uncertainties related to the dissemination and uptake of vaccines mean timing the recovery is still exceedingly difficult.”

2. U.S. Economy: COVID is Still the Economy

The next couple of months are critical in for domestic economy as fiscal policy decisions are made.

From CoBank: “Roughly 10 million Americans who lost their jobs early in the pandemic have yet to find work, and many of them are receiving some form of public support. If and how Congress chooses to fund further relief will impact the speed of the recovery.”

3. Monetary Policy: Less Dramatic but No Less Critical

CoBank cites central banks as “economic heroes” through the pandemic, giving the Federal Reserve’s quick action in the early weeks and continued stabilization as an example.

From CoBank: “With short term interest rates firmly at zero, the Federal Reserve will manage a few levers in the coming year, advocating for fiscal policy and keeping a close watch on longer-term rates and inflation, among other things.”

4. U.S. Government: Sweeping Leadership Changes

With the new Biden administration and narrow margins of power in Congress, CoBank cites managing the pandemic as the primary focus before infrastructure, trade policy, social justice or climate change can take precedence.

5. U.S. Farm Economy: A Strong 2020 Finish Boosts Potential

After more than one-third of net farm income from government payments in 2020, the new year starts with higher commodity prices and low interests, which will provide an “important financial buffer” in the year ahead. CoBank expects farmland values to remain stable in 2021.

6. Specialty Crops: Preparing for More Shifts in Consumer Demand

Less foodservice and more food being bought via retail has brought historic shifts in logistics and supply chains. This will bring further adaptation in the specialty crop industry.

From CoBank: “Some growers, packers, and processors have successfully managed to increase or reroute products into retail channels like grocery stores and home delivery of food boxes. However, steep financial losses from the loss of foodservice contracts will ultimately result in the rationalization of some processing assets and production acreage.”

7. Grain, Farm Supply and Biofuels: Recovery in Motion

From CoBank: “The outlook for grain is more favorable than a year ago, although carry has evaporated with the inversion of futures prices. The outlook for farm supply cooperatives is positive for 2021 following a very orderly harvest, rising grain prices and decent farm liquidity. The ethanol outlook is stable but guarded, with considerable growth and margin opportunities favoring ethanol co-products vs. fuel. After experiencing a near 50% reduction in demand during mid-March 2020 to mid-April 2020, fuel ethanol in the U.S. has recovered to about 90% of pre-COVID levels.”

8. Dairy and Animal Protein: Higher Feed Costs and Restaurant Reboot

The top challenge for livestock in the year ahead is shaping to be rising feed costs as corn and soybean meal prices are at multi-year highs. Domestic demand is dynamic with the changes in foodservice demand, and international demand is also in question.

From CoBank: “China’s rebuilding of the nation’s hog herd brings into question its appetite for foreign protein in 2021 as supplies climb. The U.S. dairy sector stands to benefit from the rebound in Chinese hog production with dry whey used as a protein supplement in China’s hog feeding rations.”

9. Rural Electricity: From Reactive to Adaptive

One big area of change CoBank expects in 2021 is an increase in solar. Its economists point to one report claiming solar is the cheapest form of energy in history and business leaders are pointing to the renewable source to be included in climate change mitigation efforts.

10. Rural Communications: Big Spending Not Likely, But Regulatory Change Is

From CoBank: “We expect a good bit of gridlock in Washington in 2021. It’s likely that any COVID-related stimulus will focus on near-term economic needs versus investing in projects that take years to produce results. That leaves the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as the remaining institution in Washington to enact policies that will help rural communication providers. In 2020 the FCC held its Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) spectrum auction that was much more rural friendly than any of its past auctions. And as a result, rural operators are now able to build carrier-grade fixed wireless networks at significantly reduced costs.”

If Dolly Can Do It, So Can I

Tue, 15 Dec 2020 23:35:31 GMT

I fixed biscuits and sausage gravy this morning for breakfast – not something I typically do at 5:30 a.m. on a weekday. My inspiration was Dolly Parton. Apparently, she likes the dish, too, and even fixes it for her husband, Carl Dean, from time to time – all the while in full dress regalia, make up, wig and high heels. Leastwise, that’s what she said during a Today Show segment.

Me? I slouch into the kitchen most mornings in my sweats, switch on the coffee pot and fix my husband, Jay, a piece of toast with peanut butter and jelly – sans make up and high heels.

Dolly’s doing a lot of good out there in the world these days. She’s a major funder of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine. She gives free books to children through her Imagination Library. It mails books to 1.49 million children around the world, according to the organization’s website. When wildfires devastated Gatlinburg, Tenn., back in 2016, she stepped up in a big way for folks in her beloved Smoky Mountains by organizing the My People Fund. It provided monthly monetary aid to families and renters whose homes were damaged or destroyed by the fires.

Me? When Covid struck, I went to the grocery store and bought cans of tuna, soup, vegetables and boxes of pasta and cereal and dropped them off at our local interfaith food pantry. Last Friday, I tucked a $20 bill in a Salvation Army Red Kettle when I was out running errands. My husband and I aren’t buying our kids any Christmas presents this year. Don’t worry. They’re both adults and lack for nothing, and they support our decision to donate those dollars to help people here in the area we know are hungry.

Of course, Dolly would do much better than what I’ve done, and she has. Still, while I don’t have Dolly’s resources, my hands are open and I will give what I do have – with generosity and an attitude of gratefulness for the opportunity to give. That’s what I’m focused on doing this Christmas, and I hope that’s true for you as well. When we all give a little, it adds up to a lot – blessings our family, friends, neighbors and people throughout this country are so in need of this year.

Biscuits and gravy and the thought of Dolly this morning helped me remember that.

USDA Extends CFAP Deadline to September 11

Fri, 20 Nov 2020 03:07:22 GMT

The USDA on Tuesday announced they’ve extended the deadline to apply for the Coronavirus Food Aid Program to September 11. Additionally, producers with approved applications will receive their final payment.

“President Trump is standing with America’s farmers and ranchers to ensure they get through this pandemic and continue to produce enough food and fiber to feed America and the world. That is why he authorized this $16 billion of direct support in the CFAP program and today we are pleased to add additional commodities eligible to receive much needed assistance,” said Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. “CFAP is just one of the many ways USDA is helping producers weather the impacts of the pandemic. From deferring payments on loans to adding flexibilities to crop insurance and reporting deadlines, USDA has been leveraging many tools to help producers.”

Earlier this week, 28 industry groups pressured the agency to extend the deadline and do more to promote the program to farmers hurt by COVID-19.

The American Farm Bureau Federation, with organizations representing producers of goods ranging from apples to cotton and cattle, said in a letter that USDA’s Aug. 28 deadline may prevent farmers from participating in the $16 billion aid program.

“We strongly encourage you to increase producer and stakeholder engagement initiatives,” the groups told Perdue in the letter.

The USDA paid out $6.8 billion in the program as of Aug. 3, with cattle, milk and corn producers the biggest recipients.

To apply for the program or to learn more, visit farmers.gov/CFAP.

CDC Releases Checklist for Creating a COVID-19 Control Plan on Farms

Fri, 20 Nov 2020 03:07:08 GMT

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) this week published a checklist for agricultural employers to use to prevent and slow the spread of COVID-19. The checklist , developed by the CDC and the U.S. Department of Labor assists employers with applying specific preparation, prevention and management measures on their operation.

The checklist is broken into five sections:

• Section 1: Assessment

• Section 2: Control Plan based on the Hierarchy of Controls

» Screening and Monitoring Workers

» Managing Sick Workers

» Addressing Return to Work after Worker Exposure to COVID-19

» Engineering Controls

» Cleaning, Disinfection, and Sanitation

» Administrative Controls

» Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

• Section 3: Special Considerations for Shared Housing

• Section 4: Special Considerations for Shared Transportation

• Section 5: Special Considerations for Children

Employers can use the list to reassess, update, and modify your assessment and control plan on a regular basis or as conditions change.

Eric Conn, founding partner at law firm Conn Maciel Carey LLP and chair of its chair OSHA workplace safety group, says employers should be aware that OSHA has not released standards specific to workplace safety and COVID-19. However, the agency is using the general duty clause as an enforcement tool.

Here are Conn’s top three reasons every employer should have a single COVID exposure control/response plan in writing:

1. Your employees are scared. Having a written plan gives them comfort and abates the incredible amount of angst right now. It demonstrates to your team that you’ve taken your response seriously and put a lot of thought into it.

2. It helps in your dealings with OSHA. By having a documented plan, it shows the agency the steps you have taken, and it can help defend actions you’ve taken.

3. We are on the verge of seeing a tidal wave of litigation. Conn expects more wrongful death, personal injury suits, and more litigation about employee’s and their family members becoming sick. Having a good, effective and coherent action plan will buy your outline for a defense.

“Having a written exposure plan, it’s just like lock out/tag out or an emergency action plan,” he says.

Conn shared his insights into the OSHA guidance and workplace health and safety issues during a webinar hosted by the National Grain and Feed Association and Grain Journal. He says the developing regulations around workplace health and safety issues and COVID-19 has been akin to “building the car while driving down the highway.”