By Marlee Moore
Alabama contract broiler farmers are set to benefit from expanded federal assistance eligibility details released today by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue.
Payments will be based on a decline in revenue when comparing income from Jan. 1-Dec. 27, 2019, to Jan. 1-Dec. 27, 2020. Producers should be prepared to present a copy of their integrator contract when applying. Broiler farmers receive up to 80% of their revenue loss, subject to the availability of funds.
They can apply for compensation through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) from Jan. 19-Feb. 26.
Broiler producers will receive $1.5 billion of $2.3 billion available in the revised U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) program administered through the Farm Service Agency. Alabama is the second-highest broiler-producing state in the U.S. and processes 20 million chickens a week.
In addition to making contract livestock producers eligible, turfgrass producers are now specifically included in CFAP. The updated rules adjust payment calculations for certain commodities already covered and allow producers of certain crops including corn, sorghum, soybeans, upland cotton and wheat to use 100% of the 2019 Agriculture Risk Coverage-County Option (ARC-CO) benchmark rather than 85% of that figure when 2020 Actual Production History (APH) is not available.
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