|
 The agency also provided extra flexibilities to its programs,
adjusting reporting dates and loan processing timelines, and
continued to expand technology and streamline services to
enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
“Through this tough year, FSA continued to deliver crucial
safety net, disaster assistance, farm loan and conservation
programs to Illinois' farmers and livestock producers,” said
William Graff, FSA’s State Executive Director in Illinois. “We
partner with agricultural producers to grow and expand their
operations as well as weather the unpredictable, such as the
COVID-19 pandemic and natural disasters. We’ve also spent the
past year working to optimize program delivery and find better
and modern ways to serve our customers in Illinois.”
Key highlights from 2020 include:
Support amid COVID-19 Pandemic: FSA worked with
economists and commodity specialist across USDA to quickly build
and deliver two rounds of the Coronavirus Food Assistance
Program (CFAP), which provides financial assistance to help
producers absorb some of the increased marketing costs
associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The deadline to apply for
almost all commodities was last week, and so far, the two rounds
of funding have provided nearly $23 billion in relief, including
$1,272,356,979 in Illinois. Additionally, FSA has added
flexibilities to its farm credit options, including loan
servicing and enabling a disaster set-aside option to defer a
loan payment.
Disaster Assistance: Natural disasters, including
wildfires in the West, hurricanes along the Gulf Coast, the
derecho in the Midwest and widespread severe drought, took a
toll on U.S. agriculture in 2020. Through FSA’s suite of
disaster assistance programs, producers received more than $212
million to help offset disaster-related losses in 2020.
Additionally, FSA added drought and excess moisture as eligible
causes of loss for the Wildfire and Hurricane Indemnity Program
– Plus program, which provided much-needed assistance to help
producers impacted by 2018 and 2019 natural disasters. In total,
the program provided $1.24 billion in relief.
Farm Credit: FSA helps farmers and ranchers get the
financing they need to start, expand or maintain a family farm.
This past year, FSA obligated more than $7.5 billion in direct
and guaranteed farm ownership and operating loans, the highest
in agency history. This includes more than $3.4 billion for
beginning farmers, also an agency record. The 2018 Farm Bill
raised the amount producers can borrow, and FSA has seen sharp
demand for loans in the past year, especially direct and
guaranteed farm ownership loans. Meanwhile, FSA provided
low-interest financing to producers to build or upgrade storage
facilities and to purchase portable structures, equipment and
storage and handling trucks through the Farm Storage Facility
Loan (FSFL) program. FSA obligated a record $340 million in
fiscal year 2020. Finally, FSA provided producers with more than
$600 million in interim financing in fiscal year 2020 through
marketing assistance loans, which help producers meet cash flow
needs without having to sell their commodities when market
prices are low.
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Safety Net Programs: FSA
held 2020 enrollment for the Agricultural Risk Coverage (ARC) and
Price Loss Coverage (PLC) programs, where producers signed more than
1.7 million contracts. Election and enrollment for 2021 ARC and PLC
is underway, and those enrolled for the 2019 crop year received more
than $5 billion in payments earlier this fall. Last week, FSA
wrapped up the 2021 signup for the Dairy Margin Coverage program,
where more than 17,000 dairy operations enrolled in the risk
management program. This included 293 operations in Illinois.
Operations that enrolled for coverage in 2019 and 2020 have received
more than $500 million.
Conservation: FSA held its 54th general signup for the
Conservation Reserve Program (CRP), the first since 2016, and
enrolled 3.4 million acres nationwide into the program, including
96,303 in Illinois. Additionally, nationally FSA rolled out two new
CRP pilots, the Soil Health and Income Protection Program and
CLEAR30, and is preparing for next year with the CRP general signup
beginning Jan. 4, 2021 and the CRP Grasslands signup beginning March
15, 2021.
Critical Program Delivery: FSA worked closely with the FPAC
Business Center OCE, OGC, and AMS to build and implement programs
during the pandemic, including CFAP 1, CFAP 2, and the Seafood Trade
Relief Program (STRP). CFAP 2 was developed and deployed within six
weeks. Through STRP, FSA helped U.S. fishermen who have been
impacted by unfair retaliatory tariffs from foreign governments.
Signup is ongoing for STRP through Jan. 15, and so far, FSA has
approved 6,300 applications for more than $154 million in relief
payments. Additionally, because many applicants applying for CFAP
and STRP had not worked with FSA previously, the agency stood up a
call center to help producers ask questions about FSA programs and
get a jump start on program applications. The call center has
received over 25,000 calls, including over 800 in Spanish, since its
inception in May.
FSA is a part of the Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) mission
area at USDA. Other 2020 highlights can be found here.
All USDA Service Centers are open for business, including those that
restrict in-person visits or require appointments. All Service
Center visitors wishing to conduct business with FSA, Natural
Resources Conservation Service or any other Service Center agency
should call ahead and schedule an appointment. Service Centers that
are open for appointments will pre-screen visitors based on health
concerns or recent travel, and visitors must adhere to social
distancing guidelines. Visitors are also required to wear a face
covering during their appointment. Our program delivery staff will
continue to work with our producers by phone, email and using online
tools. More information can be found at farmers.gov/coronavirus.
[USDA Farm Service Agency] |
