The American Rescue Plan does not include direct payments to farmers. “Most of the assistance for agriculture, about $25 billion, goes toward the nutrition program,” said Randy Russell, president, the Russell Group. “It also includes debt forgiveness for minority farmers.” The USDA will now review the details of the new COVID relief and start to roll out not only this new aid, but COVID relief from late December. That COVID bill offered more direct payments through the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. Russell thinks farmers will be hearing more about those payments in the next few weeks. “I would look for CFAP 2 to start back up again in two to four weeks and CFAP 3 to happen in four to six weeks.”
