By Jacob Villagomez, Director, Governmental Affairs
This week, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the creation of a new program that will help farmers who grow fruits, vegetables, and nuts in the U.S. Through this effort, USDA will provide $2 billion to assist specialty crop growers in maintaining a strong domestic supply and expanding market opportunities for their crops stemming from the Biden Administration’ goal of strengthening the specialty crop competitiveness.
A Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) will go live in early December with potential payouts for program applicants starting in January 2025. While program criteria and requirements are currently unavailable, CCM has been briefed that this USDA program will function similarly to the CFAP 2 program. The CFAP 2 Program was made available through the USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) during the height of the pandemic. This program offered payments for growers and packers who faced market disruptions due to COVID-19.
We encourage you to stay in touch with CCM staff and look for future communications from us on NOFA announcements pursuant to the USDA’s Specialty Crop Market Assistance program.
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