Farmers Need More Time to Access Aid

Aug 10, 2020

The American Farm Bureau Federation is asking the USDA to extend the application deadline for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP). AFBF, along with 27 other agriculture organizations, sent a letter to USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue requesting the deadline be pushed beyond August 28, 2020.

The funding, approved through the CARES Act, is providing much-needed financial support to livestock, dairy, non-specialty and specialty crop producers. The letter states, however, the current deadline “may exclude eligible producers from participating in the program – including producers of commodities that were recently added to the list of eligible commodities and commodities that are likely to become eligible through the NOFA (Notice of Funding Availability) process.”

Along with extending the deadline, the letter strongly encourages the USDA to “increase producer and stakeholder engagement initiatives. While the Department has done a commendable job in reaching out to all affected parties, communication and outreach by FSA staff has likely been significantly impacted by the lack of face-to-face interactions; in addition, many producers eligible for CFAP have had limited or no previous interaction with FSA staff.”

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.