PART 9 - CORONAVIRUS FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM

(a) This part specifies the eligibility requirements and payment calculations for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP). CFAP will provide payments with respect to commodities that have been significantly impacted by the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak. CFAP is being implemented through two rounds of payments, with the first round (CFAP 1) determined as specified in subpart B of this part, and the second round (CFAP 2) determined as specified in subpart C of this part. To be eligible for CFAP payments, participants must comply with all provisions under this subpart and the relevant particular subpart for CFAP 1 or CFAP 2. Payments will be made with respect to only commodities produced in the United States; commodities other than livestock that are imported into the United States may not be used to determine any payment made under this part. For livestock, “produced in the United States” means physically located in the United States:

(b) The program is administered under the general supervision and direction of the Administrator, Farm Service Agency (FSA) with the assistance of the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS).

(c) The FSA State committee will take any action required by this part that an FSA county committee has not taken. The FSA State committee will also:

(d) No provision or delegation to an FSA State or county committee will preclude the FSA Administrator, the Deputy Administrator, or a designee or other such person, from determining any question arising under the programs of this part, or from reversing or modifying any determination made by an FSA State or county committee.

AMS means USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service.

Application means the CFAP application form.

Cattle means commercially raised or maintained bovine animals, excluding beefalo, bison, and animals used for dairy production or intended for dairy production.

Commodity means an agricultural commodity produced in the United States and intended to be marketed for commercial production that has been designated as eligible for payments under CFAP.

Controlled environment means an environment in which everything that can practicably be controlled by the producer with structures, facilities, and growing media (including but not limited to water, soil, or nutrients), is in fact controlled by the producer, as determined by industry standards.

Foreign entity means a corporation, trust, estate, or other similar organization that has more than 10 percent of its beneficial interest held by individuals who are not:

Foreign person means any person who is not a citizen or national of the United States or who is admitted into the United States for permanent residence under the Immigration and Nationality Act and possesses a valid Alien Registration Receipt Card issued by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security.

Hogs means any swine 120 pounds or more.

NOFA means a Notice of Funding Availability under this part published in the Federal Register.

Pigs means any swine weighing less than 120 pounds.

Wool means the fiber sheared from a live sheep and includes, unless noted otherwise, graded and nongraded wool. Graded wool is paid on a clean basis, and ungraded wool is paid on a greasy basis.

(a) Meet all of the requirements in this part;

(b) Be a:

(c) For payments under § 9.102 of this part, have had a share in the eligible commodity on January 15, 2020, or April 16, 2020, through May 14, 2020.

(a) A completed application under this subpart must be submitted in person, by mail, email, or facsimile to any FSA county office by the close of business on:

(b) Failure of an individual, entity, or a member of an entity to submit the following payment limitation and payment eligibility forms within 60-days from the date of signing the CFAP application, may result in no payment or a reduced payment:

(c) If requested by USDA, the applicant must provide documentation that:

(d) A producer applying for assistance for a crop subject to § 9.203(a) or (b) must file a report of all acreage of the crop on FSA-578, Report of Acreage.

(a) Producers who are approved for participation in CFAP are required to retain documentation in support of their application for 3 years after the date of approval.

(b) Participants receiving CFAP payments or any other person who furnishes such information to USDA must permit authorized representatives of USDA or the Government Accountability Office, during regular business hours, to enter the agricultural operation and to inspect, examine, and to allow representatives to make copies of books, records, or other items for the purpose of confirming the accuracy of the information provided by the participant.

(a) If a CFAP payment resulted from erroneous information provided by a participant, or any person acting on their behalf, the payment will be recalculated and the participant must refund any excess payment with interest calculated from the date of the disbursement of the payment. Any required refunds must be resolved in accordance with part 3 of this title.

(b) The regulations in parts 11 and 780 of this title apply to determinations made under this part.

(c) Any payment under this part will be made without regard to questions of title under State law and without regard to any claim or lien against the commodity or proceeds from the sale of the commodity. The regulations governing offsets in part 3 of this title do not apply to payments made under this part.

(d) The $900,000 average AGI limitation provisions in part 1400 of this title relating to limits on payments for persons or legal entities, excluding joint ventures and general partnerships, apply to each applicant for CFAP unless at least 75 percent of the person or legal entity's average AGI is derived from farming, ranching, or forestry-related activities. The average AGI will be calculated for a person or such legal entity based on the 2016, 2017, and 2018 tax years. If the person or such legal entity's average AGI is below $900,000 or at least 75 percent of the person or legal entity's average AGI is derived from farming, ranching, or forestry-related activities, the person or legal entity, is eligible to receive payments under this part.

(e)

(f) For the purposes of the effect of a lien on eligibility for Federal programs (28 U.S.C. 3201(e)), USDA waives the restriction on receipt of funds under CFAP but only as to beneficiaries who, as a condition of the waiver, agree to apply the CFAP payments to reduce the amount of the judgment lien.

(g) In addition to any other Federal laws that apply to CFAP, the following laws apply: 15 U.S.C. 714; 18 U.S.C. 286, 287, 371, 1001; and 31 U.S.C. 1001.

(h) This part applies to applications submitted under CFAP through the applicable date in § 9.4(a), or until funds made available for CFAP are exhausted.

All other cattle means commercially raised or maintained bovine animals not meeting the definition of another category of cattle in this part, excluding beefalo, bison, and animals used for dairy production or intended for dairy production.

Aquaculture means only those species as announced in a NOFA.

Cattle raised or maintained for breeding purposes means animals commercially raised or maintained for use as either a sire or dam for the production of livestock offspring or lactation.

Crop means non-specialty crops and specialty crops.

Feeder cattle 600 pounds or more means cattle weighing more than 600 pounds but less than the weight of slaughter cattle-fed cattle as defined in this section.

Feeder cattle less than 600 pounds means cattle weighing less than 600 pounds.

First quarter means January, February, and March of 2020.

Lambs and yearlings means all sheep less than 2 years old.

Non-specialty crop means any of the following crops: Barley, canola, corn, durum wheat, hard red spring wheat, millet, oats, sorghum, soybeans, sunflowers, and upland cotton. The term excludes crops intended for grazing.

Producer means a person or legal entity who shares in the risk of producing a crop or livestock and who is entitled to a share in the crop or livestock available for marketing or would have shared had the crop or livestock been produced and marketed. A contract grower who does not own the livestock, will be considered a producer if the contract allows the grower to have risk in the livestock.

Second quarter means April, May, and June of 2020.

Slaughter Cattle - fed cattle means cattle with a weight of 1,200 pounds or more that are intended for slaughter.

Slaughter cattle - mature cattle means culled cattle raised or maintained for breeding purposes, but which were removed from inventory and are intended for slaughter.

Specialty crops means any of the following crops: Almonds; apples; artichokes; asparagus; avocados; beans; blueberries; broccoli; cabbage; cantaloupe; carrots; cauliflower; celery; corn, sweet; cucumbers, eggplant; garlic; grapefruit; kiwifruit; lemons; lettuce, iceberg; lettuce, romaine; mushrooms; onions, dry; onions, green; oranges; papayas; peaches; pears; pecans; peppers, bell type; peppers, other; potatoes; raspberries; rhubarb; spinach; squash; strawberries; sweet potatoes; tangerines; taro; tomatoes; walnuts; watermelons; and any crops for which funds are made available. The term excludes crops intended for grazing.

Unpriced means not subject to an agreed-upon price in the future through a forward contract, agreement, or similar binding document as of January 15, 2020.

(a) Payments for eligible non-specialty crops will be the sum of:

(b) CFAP covers losses for specialty crops that experienced immediate losses, a price decline, spoiled, were unpaid, or were unharvested due to market conditions between January 15, 2020, and April 15, 2020. Specialty crops in inventory or in storage facilities that may be sold after April 15, 2020, are not eligible. Specialty crops that were under an agreed upon set price before January 15, 2020, and were or will be paid at that price or higher, do not qualify for assistance under paragraph (b)(1) of this section, but may qualify under paragraphs (b)(2) or (b)(3) of this section. Payments for eligible specialty crops will be the sum of:

(c) Payments for cattle will be the sum of the results of the following two calculations:

(d) Payments for hogs and pigs will be equal to the sum of the results of the following three calculations:

(e) Payments for dairy will be equal to the sum of the results of the following two calculations:

(f) Payments for lambs and yearlings will be equal to the sum of the results of the following two calculations:

(g) Payments for wool are the sum of:

(h) The payment rates in Tables 1 and 2 of this paragraph (h) will be used to calculate CFAP payments:

(i) Payments for cattle and hogs will be calculated separately for the following categories:

(j)

(k) An initial payment will be issued for 80 percent of each CFAP payment calculated. A final payment will be issued on a date determined by the Secretary, to the extent such funds are available. The total of all CFAP payments made, including all initial and final payments, cannot exceed a total of $9.5 billion for CARES Act funds and $6.5 billion for CCC funds.

Aquaculture means any species of aquatic organisms grown as food for human consumption, fish raised as feed for fish that are consumed by humans, ornamental fish propagated and reared in an aquatic medium. Eligible aquacultural species must be raised by a commercial operator and in water in a controlled environment.

Breeding stock means:

Broilers includes any chicken that has been commercially produced for meat purposes that has left the farm for slaughter, and not used for laying or breeding purposes.

Contract producer means a producer who grows or produces an eligible commodity under contract for or on behalf of another person or entity. The contract producer does not have ownership in the commodity and is not entitled to a share from sales proceeds of the commodity.

Crop insurance means an insurance policy reinsured by Federal Crop Insurance Corporation under the provisions of the Federal Crop Insurance Act, as amended. It does not include private plans of insurance.

Eggs means dried, frozen, liquid, and shell eggs.

Eligible revenue means the revenue received by a contract producer for contract production of broilers, pullets, layers, chicken eggs, turkeys, hogs, or pigs, as reported on Internal Revenue Service Form 1099.

Experimental means a crop for which all of the following apply:

Flat-rate crop means alfalfa, amaranth grain, buckwheat, canola, cotton, Extra Long Staple (ELS) cotton, crambe (colewort), einkorn, emmer, flax, guar, hemp, indigo, industrial rice, kenaf, khorasan, millet, mustard, oats, peanuts, quinoa, rapeseed, rice, rice, sweet, rice, wild, rye, safflower, sesame, speltz, sugar beets, sugarcane, teff, and triticale. The term excludes hay, except alfalfa, and crops with intended uses of grazing, green manure, or left standing.

Floriculture means cut flowers and cut greenery from annual and perennial flowering plants grown in a container or controlled environment for commercial sale. Floriculture is included in sales commodities.

Fruits means any of the following fruits: Abiu, acerola (Barbados cherry), achachairu, antidesma, apples, apricots, aronia (chokeberry), atemoya (custard apple), avocados, bananas, blueberries, breadfruit, cacao, caimito, calabaza melon, canary melon, canary seed, caneberries, canistel, cantaloupes, carambola (star fruit), casaba melon, cherimoya (sugar apple), cherries, Chinese bitter melon, citron, citron melon, coconuts, cranberries, crenshaw melon, dates, donaqua (winter melon), durian, elderberries, figs, genip, gooseberries, grapefruit, grapes, ground cherry, guamabana (soursop), guava, guavaberry, honeyberries, honeydew, huckleberries, Israel melons, jack fruit, jujube, juneberries, kiwiberry, kiwifruit, Korean golden melon, kumquats, langsat, lemons, limequats, limes, longan, loquats, lychee, mangos, mangosteen, mayhaw berries, mesple, mulberries, nectarines, noni, olives, oranges, papaya, passion fruits, pawpaw, peaches, pears, persimmons, pineapple, pitaya (dragon fruit), plantain, plumcots, plums, pomegranates, prunes, pummelo, quinces, raisins, rambutan, sapodilla, sapote, schizandra berries, sprite melon, star gooseberry, strawberries, tangelos, tangerines, tangors, wampee, watermelon, wax jamboo fruit, and wolfberry (goji).

Hemp means the plant species Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis, that is grown under a license or other required authorization issued by the applicable governing authority that permits the production of the hemp.

Horticulture means any of the following horticulture: Anise, basil, cassava, chervil (Fresh parsley), chia, chicory (radicchio), cilantro, cinnamon, curry leaves, galanga, ginger, ginseng, guayule, herbs, hops, lotus root, marjoram, meadowfoam, mint, moringa, niger seed, oregano, parsley, pennycress, peppermint, pohole, psyllium, rosemary, sage, savory, shrubs (forbs), sorrel, spearmint, tangos, tea, thyme, turmeric, vanilla, wasabi, water cress, and yu cha.

Ineligible commodities for CFAP 2 means any of the following commodities: Birdsfoot and trefoil, clover, cover crop, fallow, forage soybeans, forage sorghum, gardens (commercial and home), grass, kochia (prostrata), lespedeza, milkweed, mixed forage, pelts (excluding mink), perennial peanuts, pollinators, sunn hemp, vetch, and seed of ineligible crops.

Layer means a chicken producing table or commercial type shell eggs.

NAP means the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program under section 196 of the Federal Agriculture Improvement and Reform Act of 1996 (7 U.S.C. 7333) and part 1437 of this title.

Nursery crops means decorative or nondecorative plants grown in a container or controlled environment for commercial sale. Nursery crops are included in sales commodities.

Other livestock means any of the following livestock: Animals commercially raised for food, fur, fiber, or feathers, including alpacas, bison, buffalo, beefalo, deer, ducks, elk, emus, geese, goats, guinea pigs, llamas, mink, ostrich, pheasants, pullets, quail, rabbits, reindeer, turkey, water buffalo, and yak. It includes by-products of those live animals (such as fleece). It excludes all equine, reptiles, bees, breeding stock (including eggs to be hatched for breeding stock), companion or comfort animals, pets, and animals raised for hunting or game purposes.

Prevented planting means the inability to plant the intended crop acreage with proper equipment by the final planting date for the crop type because of a natural disaster.

Price trigger commodities means price trigger crops and price trigger livestock and products as defined in this section.

Price trigger crops means any of the following crops: Barley, corn, sorghum, soybeans, sunflowers, upland cotton, wheat (all classes), excluding crops with an intended use of grazing, green manure, or left standing.

Price trigger livestock and products means any of the following livestock and products: Beef cattle, broilers, dairy (cow milk), eggs, lambs, sheep, hogs, and pigs; excluding breeding stock.

Producer means a person or legal entity who shares in the risk of producing a commodity. Producers who are not in the business of farming at the time of application are not considered eligible producers.

Pullet means a young female chicken that has not laid an egg.

Sales-based commodities means, as defined in this section, aquaculture, sales-based crops, nursery crops and floriculture, other livestock, and the following commodities: Goat milk, mink (including pelts); mohair wool, and turfgrass sod.

Sales-based crops means ambrosia, arundo, camelina, cactus, cardoon, fruits, honey, horticulture, maple sap, tobacco, tree nuts, and vegetables. Fruits, horticulture, tree nuts, and vegetables are defined in this section. The term excludes crops with an intended use of grazing, green manure, or left standing.

Tree nuts means any of the following tree nuts: Almonds, carob, cashew, chestnuts, coffee, hazel nuts, jojoba, macadamia nuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, and walnuts.

Vegetables means any of the following vegetables: Alfalfa sprouts, aloe vera, artichokes, arugula (greens), asparagus, bamboo shoots, batatas, bean sprouts, beans (including dry edible), beets, bok choy, broccoflower, broccoli, broccolini, broccolo-cavalo, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, calaloo, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, chickpea (see beans, garbanzo), chives, collard greens, coriander, corn, sweet, cucumbers, daikon, dandelion greens, dasheen (taro root, malanga), dill, eggplant, endive, escarole, frisee, gailon (gai lein, Chinese broccoli), garlic, gourds, greens, horseradish, Jerusalem artichokes (sunchoke), kale, kohlrabi, leeks, lentils, lettuce, melongene, mesculin mix, microgreens, mushrooms, okra, onions, parsnip, peas (including dry edible), pejibaye (heart of palm), peppers, potatoes, potatoes sweet, pumpkins, radicchio, radishes, rhubarb, rutabaga, salsify (oyster plant), scallions, seed - vegetable, shallots, spinach, squash, swiss chard, tannier, taro, tomatillos, tomatoes, truffles, turnip top (greens), turnips, yam, and yautia (malanga);

WHIP+ means the Wildfires and Hurricanes Indemnity Program Plus (WHIP+) under part 760, subpart O, of this title.

(a) Producers, excluding contract producers, are eligible for payment under § 9.203(a) through (i) if they meet all other requirements for eligibility under this part.

(b) Contract producers are not eligible for payment under § 9.203(a) through (i). Contract producers are eligible for payment under § 9.203(l) if they:

(c) Contract producers must provide a copy of their contract pursuant to which they raised an eligible commodity as specified in paragraph (b)(1) of this section and provide documentation to support the information provided on their application if requested by FSA.

(a) Payments for price trigger crops will be equal to the greater of:

(b) Payments for flat-rate crops will be equal to eligible acres of the crop multiplied by a rate of $15 per acre. Eligible acres include the producer's share of the determined acres, or reported acres if determined acres are not present, excluding prevented planted and experimental acres.

(c) Payments for beef cattle will be equal to the lower of the producer's maximum owned inventory of eligible beef cattle, excluding breeding stock, on a date selected by the producer from April 16, 2020, through August 31, 2020, or 4,546 head multiplied by the number of payment limitations for the producer, multiplied by a payment rate of $55 per head.

(d) Payments for hogs and pigs will be equal to the lower of the producer's maximum owned inventory of eligible hogs and pigs, excluding breeding stock, on a date selected by the producer from April 16, 2020, through August 31, 2020, or 10,870 head multiplied by the number of payment limitations for the producer, multiplied by a payment rate of $23 per head.

(e) Payments for lambs and sheep will be equal to the producer's highest owned inventory of eligible lambs and sheep, excluding breeding stock, on a date selected by the producer from April 16, 2020, through August 31, 2020, multiplied by a payment rate of $27 per head.

(f)

(g)

(h)

(i)

(j) The payment rates in Tables 1 and 2 of this paragraph (j) will be used to calculate CFAP payments:

(k) CFAP 2 payments will not be calculated or issued for ineligible commodities.

(l) For eligible contract producers of broilers, pullets, layers, chicken eggs, turkeys, hogs, or pigs, if eligible revenue for the period from January 1, 2020, through December 27, 2020, decreased compared to eligible revenue for the period from January 1, 2019, through December 27, 2019, then payments will be equal to: