The Coshocton County Beacon June 3, 2020 | Page 12
12 • The Beacon June 3, 2020
COVID-19 has hit the agricultural industry pretty hard
Hello Coshocton County.
COVID-19 has caused a lot
of discomfort for families,
businesses, governmental
agencies and civic organizations.
It seems as if the
only certainty we have is
the fact there is no certainty
in this pandemic. We are in
uncharted territory, and the
game plan will continue to
be written day by day.
COVID-19 has hit the
agricultural industry pretty
hard. Market prices for
major commodities have
fallen sharply since COVID-
Need to
Advertise?
I can help!
Contact Mark Fortune
[email protected]
or call 220-201-9679
David
Marrison
OSU AG
Extension Talk
19 reached the United States
back in early January. Milk
and cattle prices have
declined over 25%, and corn
and hog prices are down
19%. At one time during the
pandemic, these prices had
dropped over 40%. Early
projections suggest total net
farm income could be down
20% or more in 2020.
There have been many
efforts through federal and
state legislation to offset the
impact of COVID-19. The
details for one such program
targeted to help agricultural
producers were released
last week. This program,
called Coronavirus Food
Assistance Program, will
provide $19 billion of financial
assistance nationally
for losses experienced as a
result of the pandemic.
So what does this mean
for our farmers here in
Coshocton County? First,
there is assistance for farmers
who raise corn, soybeans,
oats, cattle, sheep
or hogs or produce milk.
Producers raising certain
vegetable and fruit specialty
crops also are eligible. The
program is designed to help
soften the drastic loss of
revenue received by farmers
when crops and livestock
were marketed from
mid-January through mid-
April. It also provides additional
funding to help offset
ongoing market disruptions.
Commodities that did not
suffer a 5% or greater price
decline from mid-January
2020 to mid-April 2020 are
not eligible for CFAP. Specifically
this includes sheep
more than 2 years old, eggs/
layers, soft red and hard red
winter wheat, alfalfa, and
forage crops.
Second, farmers do not
need to have previously
participated in the federal
farm program to take part
in CFAP. I know many of
our dairy and beef producers
may have not participated
in the federal farm
program. My advice to you:
Now you should strongly
consider it. If you know a
local producer, make sure to
clip this article out and give
it to them.
As examples on the help
that will be offered, an eligible
dairy producer will
receive $4.71 per hundred
weight of milk for their milk
production from the first
quarter of the year, plus an
additional national adjustment
payment. Farmers
with corn and soybeans in
storage may be eligible for
two payment rates together,
averaging 33.5 cents per
bushel for corn and 47.5
cents per bushel for soybeans
if they had inventory
subject to price risk held as
of Jan. 15, 2020.
For cattle marketed from
Jan. 15 to April 15, producers
are eligible for a onetime
payment ranging from
$92-$214 per head. Livestock
producers also are
eligible for an additional
payment of $33 per head for
cattle on the farm between
April 16 and May 14. Our
hog and sheep producers
also are eligible for payments
for the same time
periods as well.
Eligible producers can
sign up for CFAP through
Aug. 28. This program is
administered by the Farm
Service Agency office, and
the Coshocton FSA can be
called at 740-622-8087 for
sign-up details. The FSA also
released a really nice CFAP
spreadsheet for farmers to
complete from the comfort of
their home farm office.
I cannot express how fortunate
we are to have such
a wonderful Farm Service
Agency office staff here in
Coshocton County. They
have a lot on their plates
juggling all the federal farm
programs. They are truly
amazing.
Complete details about
the CFAP program can be
found at the FSA’s website at
www.farmers.gov/cfap. Our
OSU Extension Farm Office
team also has authored a bulletin
discussing the CFAP
program more in depth. It
can be found at www.go.osu.
edu/CFAP-2020.
I also can mail or email a
copy. Just drop me an email
at [email protected] or
call me at the Coshocton
County Extension office at
740-622-2265.
In closing, I would like to
share with you a quote from
Walt Disney: “All the adversity
I’ve had in my life, all
my troubles and obstacles,
have strengthened me. You
may not realize it when it
happens, but a kick in the
teeth may be the best thing
in the world for you.”
Have a good and safe
day.
David Marrison is an
associate professor and
extension educator, agriculture
and natural resources,
Ohio State University
Extension. He can be called
at 740-622-2265 or emailed
at [email protected].