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Washington, DC - Congressman Jim Baird (R-IN) has written a letter to President Biden urging him and his administration to continue the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP).

“Farmers across the country are suffering because of the COVID-19 pandemic. CFAP has been a lifeline to them and their families. It has ensured the stability of our food supply and has provided food assistance to millions of families in need. Freezing the program will only have disastrous consequences,” said Congressman Jim Baird.

Last week, the USDA announced they have suspended the processing of payments and the accepting of new applications due to the Biden administration’s recent "Regulatory Freeze Pending Review" memo.

USDA announced the additional assistance for the CFAP program on January 15, which expanded CFAP eligibility for some agricultural producers and commodities (primarily making contract livestock producers eligible) and updating payments to accurately compensate some producers who already applied for earlier assistance. This additional assistance builds on about $23.6 billion in payments made available through CFAP 1 and CFAP 2 earlier signups.

America's farmers and ranchers have been significantly impacted by the pandemic and the disruptions will likely ripple for years to come. The CFAP program has been tremendously valuable in helping to stabilize and support America's family farms and agricultural producers. Under the new Additional Assistance portion of the program announced earlier this month, the USDA finally addresses and makes eligible some of the producers hardest hit - contract growers who reduced population. 

Read the full letter here.

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