On Wednesday, American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall sent a letter to Secretary Vilsack asking USDA to extend the deadline to apply for the CFAP aid. Less than 24 hours later, the extension for farmers and ranchers was granted. Andrew Wheeler with the Iowa Farm Bureau says the swift response by Secretary Vilsack was appreciated by the Ag community.

“You know it’s been a welcome and necessary lifeline for farmers who have suffered tremendous losses during the pandemic,” Wheeler said. “The extended time will help farmers have an opportunity to apply for that assistance.”

In January, an additional $13 billion in assistance was made available to help farmers and ranchers who are suffering losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Wheeler says the original deadline was February 26th, however, recent severe weather and the suspension of CFAP payments led to challenges and confusion surrounding the application process.

“It’s a common occurrence during a presidential administration transition where there is a regulatory freeze put into place to look at reviews and things,” Wheeler said. “That caused tremendous amounts of confusion for farmers. There was uncertainty on what it meant for the program, or even thinking what would happen if this program were to be terminated.”

AFBF President Zippy Duvall released a statement saying, “AFBF applauds Secretary Vilsack for his swift response to our call for an extension to the CFAP application deadline. We encourage USDA to quickly complete its review of CFAP so resources can be distributed to the people who are working to feed families across the country.”