Farmers can apply for pandemic aid beginning May 26

Starting Tuesday, May 26, farmers will be able to apply for aid under the $19 billion Coronavirus Food Assistance Program.

Farmers can sign up online. The application will be available beginning that day. A video preview of the payment calculator is also available on YouTube.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the program will provide financial assistance to farmers who have experienced at least a 5% price decline, or who have had losses due to market supply chain disruptions because of the pandemic. Eligible commodities include, among other things, livestock, dairy and specialty and non-specialty crops. The full list is available at the CFAP website.

Eligible farmers and ranchers will receive one CFAP payment, drawn from a $16 billion pool. Some payments will compensate farmers for losses they experienced from early this year through mid-April. Others will assist those who have losses from ongoing market disruptions.

Some farmers have criticized the program because they’re not technically eligible to receive payments. But economists said those farmers are mistaken, confusing this program with other stopgap government programs.