USDA is providing critical support to our 

nation’s farmers and ranchers through the 

Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP 

2). CFAP 2 provides vital financial assistance 

to agricultural producers who continue to 

face market disruptions and associated costs 

because of COVID-19.

Overview

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Stability Act 

(CARES Act) and the Commodity Credit Corporation 

(CCC) Charter Act authorized the funds for the original 

CFAP. CCC funds will be used for CFAP 2, with the 

exception of tobacco, which will use remaining CARES 

Act funds. 

FSA is accepting applications for CFAP 2 from 

September 21, 2020, to December 11, 2020.

Who is Eligible?

Producers (persons or legal entities) of specified 

agricultural commodities who face continuing market 

disruptions and significant marketing costs are eligible 

for CFAP 2 payments. 

United States

Department of

Agriculture

CORONAVIRUS FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM 2

FARM SERVICE AGENCY

FACT SHEET - OCTOBER 1, 2020

To be eligible for payments, a person or legal entity 

must either:

• have an average adjusted gross income of less than 

$900,000 for tax years 2016, 2017, and 2018; or

• derive at least 75 percent of their adjusted gross 

income from farming, ranching or forestry-related 

activities.

Persons and legal entities also must:

• commercially produce the eligible commodities;

• be in the business of farming at the time of 

application;

• comply with the provisions of the “Highly Erodible 

Land and Wetland Conservation” regulations, often 

called the conservation compliance provisions;

• if a foreign person, provides land, capital, and a 

substantial amount of active personal labor to the 

farming operation; and 

• not have a controlled substance violation.

Commodities grown under a contract in which the 

grower has ownership and production risk are eligible 

for CFAP 2.

Eligible Commodities

CFAP 2 payments will be split into three categories of 

commodities:

1. Price trigger commodities;

2. Flat-rate crops; and

3. Sales commodities.
CORONAVIRUS FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM 2 2

Price Trigger Commodities

Price trigger commodities suffered a 5-percent-orgreater price decline in a comparison of the average 

price for the week of January 13-17, 2020, and the 

average price for the week of July 27-31, 2020. 

Price trigger commodities include:

• Barley

• Corn

• Sorghum

• Soybeans

• Sunflowers

• Upland Cotton

• Wheat (all classes)

• Broilers

• Eggs 

• Beef Cattle

• Dairy

• Hogs and Pigs

• Lambs and Sheep

Flat-rate Crops

Flat-rate crops are crops that either do not meet the 

5-percent price decline trigger or do not have data 

available to calculate a price change. Flat-rate crops 

include, but are not limited to:

• Alfalfa

• Amaranth Grain

• Buckwheat

• Canola

• Extra Long Staple Cotton

• Crambe (Colewart)

• Einkorn

• Emmer

• Flax 

• Guar 

• Hemp 

• Indigo

• Industrial Rice

• Kenaf

• Millet

Ineligible Commodities

Hay, except alfalfa, and crops intended for grazing 

are ineligible for CFAP 2 and will not receive a CFAP 2 

payment. Crops with intended uses of green manure 

and those left standing are also ineligible.

Ineligible commodities for CFAP 2 include, but are not 

limited to: 

• Birdsfoot and Trefoil

• Clover

• Cover Crop

• Fallow

• Forage Sorghum

• Forage Soybeans

• Gardens (commercial

and home)

• Grass

• Kochia (prostrata)

FACT SHEET - OCTOBER 1, 2020

• Khorasan Wheat

• Mustard

• Oats

• Peanuts

• Quinoa

• Rapeseed

• Safflower

• Sesame

• Speltz

• Sugarcane

• Sugar Beets

• Sweet rice

• Teff

• Triticale

• Wild rice

Sales Commodities

Sales commodities include:

• Fruits and Vegetables

• Aquaculture grown in a controlled environment;

• Nursery crops and floriculture;

• Other livestock (excluding breeding stock) not included 

under the price trigger category that were grown for 

food, fiber, fur, or feathers;

• Tobacco;

• Goat milk;

• Mink (including pelts);

• Mohair;

• Wool; and

• Other commodities.

For a list of all eligible commodities, visit farmers.gov/cfap.

• Lespedeza

• Milkweed

• Mixed Forage

• Pelt (excluding mink)

• Perennial Peanuts

• Pollinators

• Sunn Hemp

• Seed of ineligible 

crops

• Vetch

Payments

CCC funds will be used to partially compensate 

producers for on-going market disruptions and assist 

with the transition to a more orderly marketing system.

CCC Charter Act funds cannot be used to provide 

assistance for tobacco; however, tobacco will be eligible 

for CFAP 2 using remaining funds authorized by the 

CARES Act.

Price Trigger Crops

For barley, corn, sorghum, soybeans, sunflowers, 

upland cotton, and wheat (all classes), payments will 

be based on the eligible 2020 acres of the crop, as 

reported to FSA on form FSA-578, excluding prevented 

planting and experimental acres. 

Payments for price trigger crops will be the greater of: 

1. the eligible acres multiplied by a payment rate of 

$15 per acre; or 

2. the eligible acres multiplied by a nationwide crop 

marketing percentage, multiplied by a crop-specific 

payment rate, and then by the producer’s weighted 

2020 Actual Production History (APH) approved 

yield. If the APH is not available, 85 percent of the 

2019 Agriculture Risk Coverage-County Option (ARCCO) benchmark yield for that crop will be used. 
PAYMENT RATES FOR PRICE TRIGGER CROPS

COMMODITY UNIT OF 

MEASURE

CROP 

MARKETING 

PERCENTAGE 

(%)

PAYMENT 

RATE 

($/UNIT)

Barley bushels 63 $0.54

Corn bushels 40 $0.58

Cotton, Upland pounds 46 $0.08

Sorghum bushels 55 $0.56

Soybeans bushels 54 $0.58

Sunflowers pounds 44 $0.02

Wheat 

(All Classes) bushels 73 $0.54

Broilers and Eggs

For broilers, payments will be equal to 75 percent of 

the producer’s 2019 broiler production multiplied by 

the payment rate of $1.01 per bird (head).

Payments for eggs will be equal to 75 percent of the 

producer’s 2019 egg production multiplied by the CCC 

payment rate. 

PAYMENT RATES FOR PRICE TRIGGER CROPS

COMMODITY UNIT OF 

MEASURE

PAYMENT RATE 

($/UNIT)

Shell Eggs dozen 0.05

Liquid Eggs pounds 0.04

Dried Eggs pounds 0.14

Frozen Eggs pounds 0.05

Dairy

Dairy (cow’s milk) payments will be equal to the sum of 

the following:

• The producer’s total actual milk production from 

April 1, 2020, to August 31, 2020, multiplied by the 

payment rate of $1.20 per hundredweight; and

• The producer’s estimated milk production 

from September 1, 2020, to December 31, 

2020, multiplied by a payment rate of $1.20 per 

hundredweight. FSA will estimate this production 

based on the producer’s daily average production 

from April 1 to August 31, 2020, multiplied by the 

number of days the dairy operation commercially 

markets milk from September 1, 2020, through 

December 31, 2020.

Dairy operations applying for CFAP 2 must be in the 

business of producing and commercially marketing 

milk at the time of application. Dairy operations that 

dissolve or have dissolved on or after September 

1, 2020, are eligible for a prorated payment for the 

number of days the dairy operation commercially 

markets milk from September 1, 2020, through 

December 31, 2020.

Price-Trigger Livestock

For price-triggered livestock, payments are based on a 

fixed number of head, which is defined as the lower of:

• the highest maximum owned inventory of eligible 

livestock, excluding breeding stock, on a date 

selected by the eligible producer from April 16, 

2020, through August 31, 2020; or 

• the maximum number of livestock per type 

established by USDA.

PAYMENT RATES FOR PRICE-TRIGGER LIVESTOCK

COMMODITY UNIT OF 

MEASURE

PAYMENT RATE 

($/UNIT)

Beef Cattle head $55

Hogs and Pigs head $23

Lambs and 

Sheep head $27

Flat-Rate Crops

For flat-rate crops, payments will be calculated by 

multiplying the producer’s share of reported or determined 

2020 planted acres of the crop, excluding prevented 

planted and experimental acres, by $15 per acre.

CORONAVIRUS FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM 2 3

FACT SHEET - OCTOBER 1, 2020
Sales Commodities

For sales commodities, payments will be calculated 

using a sales-based approach based on five payment 

gradations associated with the producer’s 2019 sales 

of the commodity.

PAYMENT RATES FOR SALES COMMODITIES

2019 SALES RANGE PERCENT PAYMENT

 FACTOR

Up to $49,999 10.6

$50,000-$99,999 9.9

$100,000-$499,999 9.7

$500,000-$999,999 9.0

All sales over $1 million 8.8

Example: A producer’s 2019 sales of eligible 

commodities totaled $75,000. The payment is 

calculated as ($49,999 times 10.6%) plus ($25,001 times 

9.9%) equals a total payment of $7,775. 

New Producers in 2020

Payments cannot be calculated using the methods 

described above for producers of broilers, eggs, and 

sales commodities who began farming in 2020 and had 

no 2019 production or sales. 

Payments for such producers will be based on the 

producer’s actual 2020 production or sales as of the 

date the producer submits an application for payment. 

Payment Limitation

CFAP 2 payments are subject to a per person and legal 

entity payment limitation of $250,000. This limitation 

applies to the total amount of CFAP 2 payments for all 

eligible commodities.

Unlike other FSA programs, special payment limitation 

rules apply to participants that are corporations, 

limited liability companies, limited partnerships 

(corporate entities), trusts, and estates. These legal 

entities may receive up to $750,000 based upon the 

number of members (not to exceed three members) 

who each contribute at least 400 hours of active 

personal labor or active personal management.

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender.

For a legal entity:

• With one such member, the payment limit for the 

entity is $250,000;

• With two such members, the payment limit for 

the entity is $500,000 if at least two members 

contribute at least 400 hours of active personal 

labor or active personal management, or 

combination thereof, with respect to the operation 

of the corporate entity; and

• With three such members, the limit is $750,000 

if at least three members contribute at least 400 

hours of active personal labor or active personal 

management, or combination thereof, with respect 

to the operation of the corporate entity.

CFAP 2 payment limitation is separate from the CFAP 1 

payment limitation.

Where to File the Application

FSA staff at your local USDA Service Center will work 

with producers to file applications. Applications may be 

submitted via mail, fax, hand delivery, or via electronic 

means. Please call your office prior to sending 

applications electronically. 

The CFAP 2 application and associated forms are 

available online at farmers.gov/cfap.

Who to Call for Help

Additionally, producers interested in one-on-one 

support with the CFAP 2 application can call our call 

center at 877-508-8364 to speak directly with a USDA 

employee ready to offer assistance.

More Information

This fact sheet is for informational purposes only; other 

restrictions may apply. For more information about 

the CFAP program, visit farmers.gov/cfap or contact 

your local FSA office. To find your local FSA office, visit 

farmers.gov/cfap. 

CORONAVIRUS FOOD ASSISTANCE PROGRAM 2 4