From a Small Business Administration news release

U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Jovita Carranza announced today that agricultural businesses are now eligible for SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and EIDL Advance programs. SBA’s EIDL portal will reopen today as a result of funding authorized by Congress through the Paycheck Protection Program and Healthcare Enhancement Act. The legislation, signed into law by the President one week ago, provided additional funding for farmers and ranchers and certain other agricultural businesses affected by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

“For more than 30 years, SBA has been prohibited by law from providing disaster assistance to agricultural businesses; however, as a result of the unprecedented legislation enacted by President Trump, American farmers, ranchers and other agricultural businesses will now have access to emergency working capital,” said Administrator Carranza. “These low-interest, long-term loans will help keep agricultural businesses viable while bringing stability to the nation’s vitally important food supply chains.”

Agricultural businesses include businesses engaged in the legal production of food and fiber, ranching, and raising of livestock, aquaculture, and all other farming and agricultural related industries (as defined by section 18(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 647(b)). Eligible agricultural businesses must have 500 or fewer employees.

The SBA will begin accepting new EIDL applications on a limited basis only, in order to provide unprecedented relief to U.S. agricultural businesses. For agricultural businesses that submitted an EIDL loan application through the streamlined application portal prior to the legislative change, SBA will move forward and process these applications without the need for re-applying. All other EIDL loan applications that were submitted before the portal stopped accepting new applications on April 15 will be processed on a first-in, first-out basis.

For more information, please visit: www.sba.gov/Disaster.

CDFA has recently added three guidance documents pertaining to meat and poultry guidance to its COVID-19 web page.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued interim Guidance for Meat and Poultry Processing Facilities. These measures are primarily for large plants regulated by the USDA.

CDFA has issued two additional guidance documents for small establishments it regulates. The first, for livestock and poultry, is for custom and/or mobile slaughter operations. The second, for retail processors, is for small businesses not regulated by the USDA.

CDFA offers a variety of COVID-19 resources on its web page.

By CDFA Secretary Karen Ross

Thank you to California’s farmers, ranchers and farm workers for feeding us and supporting our food banks as they provide nourishment to the people who depend on them.

Almost overnight, California farmers and ranchers have watched their market decrease by 50 percent.  At a time when agriculture is suffering from market disruption, California families are struggling to put healthy food on the table and food banks have seen a 73 percent increase in demand over last year. Yesterday’s announcement from Governor Newsom aims to address that mismatch and connect California’s producers with our food banks.

We are pleased to announce that we are further scaling up our partnership with Farm to Family, a program through the California Association of Food Banks (CAFB) that works with farmers, ranchers, packers and shippers to get California farm products from the field to 41 food banks throughout the state. To date, more than 128 companies have stepped up to the challenge and have donated more than 20 million pounds in April (a two-fold increase over March). Thank you to those who are feeding the need. And I am inspired by the outpouring of interest since yesterday’s announcement.

What was announced?

We have secured $2 million in USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant funding for CAFB to support harvesting, packing  and shipping of donated specialty crop products. In addition, the state Department of Social Services has more than $860,000 in USDA Farm to Food Bank dollars to the CAFB to further support the Farm to Family Program. Philanthropy has stepped up and committed $775,000, and is also launching a $15 million campaign to feed the need and support our farmers, farm workers, and food banks.

What can you do?

There are three options:

*Donate product directly to a local food bank.

*Contact the Farm to Family Program for more information about assistance with harvesting, packing and shipping. The funding we announced will support financial assistance of up-to 15 cents per pound on eligible California grown specialty crop products. You may also qualify for a 15 percent tax credit on donations. Entities wishing to donate should register with the Farm to Family Program. Donations to the program are limited to larger volumes (1/2 to full truckloads).

For non-specialty crop items, the CAFB will work with producers on the best options. Depending on the type of donated products – totes, bins, cases and consumer packs (nuts/dried fruit) are the needed packaging for food bank distribution. 

*If you don’t have product but want to support this crucial program, please consider joining the philanthropic campaign by donating to CAFB at https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/1407080.

And when you donate food or cash, please join our social media campaign by sharing online with #FarmersFeedtheNeed.

This effort is a prime example of farmers and ranchers, farm workers, and philanthropists coming together to support and nourish our communities in need. My deep gratitude to all of you.

Governor Gavin Newsom today announced new initiatives to help Californians put healthy food on the table while also supporting the farm industry, which has been devastated by COVID-19. The Governor unveiled $3.64 million in new funding to expand the state’s Farm to Family program, including $2.86 million from the USDA and $775,000 committed by philanthropy to jumpstart a $15 million campaign to further support the program through the end of the year. The Governor also highlighted critical expansions of CalFresh and EBT programs to combat food insecurity for low-income Californians, including a new Pandemic-EBT program for children who receive free or reduced lunch and EBT for online purchasing.

“Putting food on the table during this pandemic is hard for families on the brink,” said Governor Newsom. “It’s in that spirit that we’re expanding our Farm to Family program while also working to connect low-income families with vital resources and financial support. We thank our farmers for stepping up to donate fresh produce to our food banks. And we want families struggling to access food to know we have your backs.”

Expanding California’s Farm to Family Program
The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented level of demand at California food banks—seeing a year-over-year increase in demand of approximately 73 percent. The first three weeks of April, CalFresh saw a 140 percent increase in the number of applications over the same time last year and almost overnight, California farmers and ranchers simultaneously saw their market decrease by 50 percent. The fresh produce industry supply chain has been especially hard hit because of the perishability of the products that must be harvested, shipped and consumed in a short period of time. Nationally, the specialty crop producers estimate losses thus far at $5 billion in cancelled or reduced contracts. California accounts for at least one-half of that estimate.

California’s Farm to Family program is a partnership between the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and the California Association of Food Banks to facilitate food donations from farmers and ranchers by supporting food production, processing and distribution of the food supply chain. CDFA received approval from the USDA to redirect $2 million in unused Specialty Crop Block Grant funds to the California Association of Food Banks to offset the costs of picking, packing and transporting donated produce. An additional $861,854 from the USDA Farm to Food Bank program was awarded to the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) to support the program. Farm to Family partners with 41 food banks serving all 58 counties, and handles the logistics of packaging the food and communicating with food banks.

Roughly 128 farmers and ranchers are donating to the California Association of Food Banks and another 200 farmers have expressed interest in participating. In March, Farm to Family distributed 14.5 million pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables, and in the first three weeks of April distributed 18 million pounds of food. These funds will support the donation of 21 million pounds of fresh crops for the month of May.

Additionally, $775,000 in private funds have been secured for the California Association of Food Banks to help provide a bridge to local food banks to be able to meet the increased demand through the end of May. This funding comes from three donors: Kat Taylor, Farm Credit/CoBank and an anonymous donor – and will be leveraged to launch the $15 million campaign to support the Farm to Family program through the end of the year.

Combating Food Insecurity through Expanded EBT Programs
The Governor also announced today that CalFresh recipients will receive the maximum benefits for the month of May. The continued expansion of benefits was secured through a USDA waiver that allows all households to receive the maximum allowable benefit amounts, and is a continuation of the same level of benefit received in March and April. On April 12, just over 1.3 million households received a total of nearly $223 million in additional CalFresh benefits with an average increase of $169 per household.

Families with children eligible for free or reduced price meals are eligible to receive additional support thanks to the Pandemic Emergency Benefits Transfer Program (P-EBT). The California Department of Social Services has identified roughly 3.8 million children who could qualify, and each eligible child could receive up to a total of $365 in P-EBT benefits. P-EBT eligible children that receive CalFresh, Medi-Cal, or Foster Care benefits do not need to apply for P-EBT benefits and will receive a P-EBT card in the mail in early May. Other families receiving free or reduced lunches but not in CalFresh will need to complete a short online application, which will open in late May. The state estimates that it will issue up to $1.4 billion to these kids for school closures extending from March 16, 2020 through June 12, 2020.

Finally, the Governor announced the launch of the EBT for online purchasing. California expedited implementation of this program in response to COVID-19. Participants can now use their EBT card to make purchases online at Amazon.com and Walmart.com – and California is urging supermarkets to also join. Purchases can be completed online with CalFresh food benefits and P-EBT benefits.

Link to Governor’s Newsom’s news release.

By David ‘Mas” Masumoto

Isolation. That’s the reality of this pandemic period we’re all living through.

We farmers live with isolation. We work in open spaces, much of the labor is done individually and alone. Today I find myself worrying about the impact of the coronavirus on this livelihood I’ve choosen for myself and my family as my children partner with us on our farm. Our future is now measured by generations on this land: What lies ahead beyond our trees and vines?

So I asked a few of my colleagues to share their insights. A group of friends — wise movers and shakers in the food world — were willing to express their thoughts directly, helping me clarify how a family farm can belong in a world altered by a pandemic.

When asked about the future of food, chef and food activist Jose Andres wrote me: “I would hope that the people of America no longer take their food, or those who prepare it, for granted.”

I took great comfort when he added that “our current situation is making each of us think hard about how we eat. I’m certain there will be a new respect for the ones who feed America.”

NOT ALONE

The coronavirus exposes a simple fact we farmers have known about food: we are not alone. A food chain bonds and connects people to those who grow, distribute, prepare, deliver and use food, and now we’re threatened by major disruptions. Daily, Americans now are forced to ask, where does food come from? The pandemic demands our public to think systemically; we all survive because of a food network.

I begin to feel better, not so isolated. I am part of a larger team of partners. A sage voice further calms my emotions. Alice Waters, California chef and food pioneer, shared with me that “the present crisis is reminding us that food security depends on a local food system. When we grow food regeneratively and organically, we not only produce deeply nutritious food, we also mitigate climate change. What a hopeful and delicious vision for the future.”

Farmers grow public food, our work belongs in the public sphere. A nation’s large and complicated food network is based on person-to-person exchanges. The more the people learn about food, the more they realize it’s all personal. We all work to fill a human’s body and soul with life.

The decades-old and systemic de-personalization of food made much of our food a commodity based solely on money, supply and demand. Coronavirus compels us to look at the world differently — we see neighbors, families, and people who affect our health and well-being. At the same time, food rises to the top of our human needs. We can shelter in place only if we have food.

LARGER VIEW

Now, part of my daily morning farm meetings include deep exchanges about where the our small farm fits in a larger food conversation. Our daughter Nikiko Masumoto brings a new calling and responsibility: “The Covid-19 crisis both causes and exposes fault lines in our food system. Hunger was already a problem, access to healthy nourishing food is mitigated by poverty and structural racism. Some are experiencing the feeling of scarcity and insecurity for the first time.”

On our farm, we work at a literal grassroots level and know well that the hidden hands that feed us belong to farm workers. Their plight is exacerbated by a cheap food system the industry has created. The driving economic force had been price — keep expenses low, under-pay workers, limit their access to health care, provide few benefits — all for the cause of providing the public with inexpensive food. Faced with growing economic pressures and a tightening labor supply due to closed borders, many farmers are turning to science and mechanization to solve problems, as if a meal will then magically appear on our tables with the right formula.

Suddenly nothing is easy when it comes to food. There are no quick fixes despite what some leaders proclaim. We’re rethinking how and what we eat. Michael Pollan, food writer, reminded me in an email exchange that even simple acts have become complex: “Procuring food is one of the biggest challenges of the day.”

Our small farm resides in an intricate web of relationships. Food is part of a high-touch network. From farm to truck to shipper, many hands touch our food. Distribution systems of brokers, direct sales, markets and restaurants all are parts of a necessarily complex structure that feeds us.

Jessica B. Harris, cookbook author and food historian, wrote me: “I think that we will have learned some important lessons about the commensality of the table and of the cardinal importance that coming together over food plays in our lives, whether it’s at home in the dining room or kitchen, or in a restaurant white tablecloth or burger joint, or even hunkered down on a bar stool.”

GETTING FOOD

We are witnessing the disruption to this interconnectedness. Some farmers markets are discovering sparse crowds due to a false labeling as “unsocial” places. Groceries are pulled in new directions with uneven demands yet long lines. The crushing closure of eating establishments has thrown thousands of workers into turmoil. Restaurants are trying to pivot with the birth of new take out and delivery structures. But typically, the small operator can’t weather crises. Many will not reopen and fall victim to this food storm we are witnessing.

Our farm’s produce broker, Cindy Richter of Fruit World, has seen a rapid shift. “The real estate inside stores is reorganizing before us as they adjust to new demands. People are thinking more about food, planning even more and using personal shopping delivery systems. But if others are buying food for people, does that eliminate impulse buying? What’s not on the shopping list matters more than ever.”

I do not farm by myself — the farm-to-fork metaphor oversimplifies the vital role people in the middle play, an idea reinforced when Dan Barber, New York chef and food leader, imparted these thoughts with me: “We ought to recognize (read: invest in and celebrate) that our food movement needs to become a food system. To get there, farm to table would benefit from a few more middlemen. Not just chefs and eaters, but millers, maltsters, butchers, processors, preservers, fermenters, and distributors.”

How we acquire food is now a bigger part of daily routines, part of a complex farm to fork food chain. Much of agribusiness had lost their place in this food chain. Growing food was no different than making widgets, it’s about production and economics. But I sense a shift is occurring with the coronavirus pandemic. Farming has been exempt from the shuttering of businesses. Rightfully deemed a vital component of life, we are now positioned to make a difference, not with monetary exchange but with the fruits of our labor: food.

“The lesson we ought to be learning from the pandemic is awe. Without it, we can treat the web of life as callously as we like, destroying habitat, creating crushes of monocultured plants and animals, tended by the most poorly treated humans on the planet,” Raj Patel, an economist and activist advised me.

EATING AT HOME

I project to our summer harvests of organic peaches, nectarines and apricots. The social connections around food are more evident. People are forced to reinvent the meaning of food. When restaurants and bars close, we are now compelled to eat at home and experience a meal in different ways. Home cooking has taken on new life — someone else is no longer preparing all our food.

“A revival of home cooking is underway. The shared meal is one of the few pleasures left to us.” Michael Pollan’s voice echoes as I walk our orchards, finding comfort, hoping our produce will join the tables of many.

Food has returned to its original communal roots. It’s a new yet old cultural ritual of the common gathering — from how to acquire food, who and how it’s cooked, how and where we partake it. But we farmers live with a pessimism, worrying about the weather, prices, pests and now a jolting change.

I worry about the restaurants we sell to and how they can survive the pandemic. A new paradigm of food may emerge, a new respect for those who provide meals for all of us. Behind every restaurant stands an band of not only chefs and staff, but also a circle of farmers and shippers and we too will change and pivot. Yet the economic fallout of today will crush plans.

As we emerge from this black hole, Michael Pollan suggested that we may “hurry back to the status quo.” This new awareness of where food comes from may be tossed aside, abandoned like gardens people planted or new home cooking endeavors. We may quickly forget about the plight of farm workers and the struggle of restaurant laborers.

My spirits tumble, part of a daily cyclical routine as this pandemic swirls around me, my farm, our family.

“There’s an expression in the Jewish tradition, ‘Tikkun olam.’ It refers to the idea of mending a shattered world, making it whole,” wrote Dan Barber.

Soon, I hope we transition from coping to hoping. It took an invisible virus to make farmers and food visible again.

“If we come out of this crisis with an abiding appreciation for the hands that feed us, and a newfound respect for the diversity of life, we’ll have learned well,” said Raj Patel with a reassuring voice.

I take refuge in these words from my colleagues. Perhaps farmers are not as isolated as we think.

TRANSFORMING FOOD CHAIN

Social change can evolve from small revisions that ripple through a system. We have an opportunity to remedy inequities and generate incremental advancements in the food chain we are bound by. A transformation may be underway as we shelter in place and rethink the foods we eat.

“I think/hope/pray that we have learned to be grateful … grateful for the farmers, for the vendors, for those who cook, and for those who serve it and celebrate them, pay them well, and understand the important and essential role that they play in our lives,” Jessica B. Harris kindly shared.

Dan Barber also added that “a thriving food system means an infrastructure strong enough to support all these vital food actors, to take a shattered world and patch it back together in the long run. And the long run starts now.”

On our small farm, we must constantly adapt to an unpredictable nature. And as I grow into an old farmer, I often ask how many harvests do I have left to make changes? My answer: “Next year begins now.”

David “Mas” Masumoto is an organic farmer near Fresno and author of several books, including “Epitaph for a Peach.” He can be contacted at masmasumoto@gmail.com

Link to story on the Fresno Bee website.

From a Small Business Administration announcement

President Trump has signed a bill providing additional funds for SBA programs providing COVID-related disaster assistance to small businesses:

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) will receive an additional $310 billion – with $60B of that set aside for distribution by smaller banks, credit unions, and Community Development Financial Institutions. 

The Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and EIDL Advance will receive an additional $50 billion of EIDL loan subsidy funds, plus $10B in additional EIDL advances. 

One important change in EIDL contained in the bill makes agricultural producers eligible for EIDL assistance.

What’s next?  When funds ran out on 4/16, SBA shut down both the PPP and EIDL application portals to new applicants. When new funds are deployed, SBA will reopen both portals.  The PPP portal is now open.

Paycheck Protection Program Program recap. PPP is a forgivable loan from your business’s banking institution for an amount equal to your business’s typical 2-1/2 months’ payroll.  Eligible borrowers include small businesses–including agricultural operations–and nonprofits, including faith-based organizations.  The loan may only to be used to pay payroll, business rent/mortgage interest, or utilities (nothing else).  If after 8 weeks you show your lender that at least 75% of the loan was used indeed for payroll and not more than 25% was used for the other authorized purposes, the loan is forgiven by the lender.  If any of the loan is not forgiven (e.g. because you used more than 25% of the loan for the non-payroll purposes), the repayment is based on 1% interest, 2-year term, first payment deferred for 6 months.  Neither collateral nor personal guaranties are required, and there is no “means test” to qualify.  All the rules are published here.  

Minor changes.  A few minor changes to the PPP program were published in a supplemental Interim Final Rule today: All legal gaming businesses are eligible regardless of what % of their revenue come from gambling. ESOP-owned businesses are eligible.Hospitals owned by state/local governmental entities are eligible provided they don’t get 50% or more of their revenues from their governmental owners (exclusive of Medicaid).Businesses in bankruptcy, including businesses with any owner in bankruptcy, are ineligible.Hedge funds and private equity firms are ineligible for PPP. Portfolio companies of private equity funds were reminded to closely verify their eligibility before applying.And several more FAQ’s were also issued today:Agricultural producers are confirmed to be eligible provided they either have not more than 500 employees or otherwise meet SBA “small business” size standards. Cooperatives are eligible. 

Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and Advance Program recap.  EIDL is a direct loan from SBA for lost revenue/gross profit due to the COVID disruption of your normal operations.  The loan amount is set by SBA based on an estimate of lost cash flow due to the disruption.  The EIDL loan is for business working capital needs not covered by PPP.  The repayment is based on 3.75% interest (2.75% interest for nonprofits), up to 30-year term, first payment deferred for 12 months.  The program’s initial collateral, personal guaranty, and “credit elsewhere” requirements have been loosened substantially.  An “up to $10,000 Advance” feature was added to the EIDL loan program by the 3/27/2020 CARES Act.  Every business certifies they meet the basic EIDL eligibility requirements and requests an advance in their application will receive a forgivable advance payment of $1,000 per employee, up to the $10,000 maximum.  The advance is designed to be an advance disbursement on the full EIDL loan that will ultimately be delivered once your EIDL application is processed.  Even if SBA ultimately decides you do not qualify for a full EIDL loan, the advance normally will not need to be repaid.  SBA is making every effort to disburse these advances shortly after each EIDL application is submitted.  The EIDL rules are here.

Program changes.  Agricultural producers are now eligible for EIDL assistance.  .  

To apply for EIDL assistance, watch the SBA EIDL program page for the reopening of the EIDL application portal – https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/loans/coronavirus-relief-options/economic-injury-disaster-loan-emergency-advance.

CDFA’s State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program, SWEEP, provides grants to implement irrigation systems that reduce greenhouse gases and save water on California agricultural operations. Eligible system components include (among others) soil moisture monitoring, drip systems, switching to low pressure irrigation systems, pump retrofits, variable frequency drives and installation of renewable energy to reduce on-farm water use and energy.

CDFA has selected 725 projects for grants, covering over 127,100 acres. $72.2 million has been awarded to date, with more than $47.7 million in matching funds contributed by awardees.

By CDFA Secretary Karen Ross

As we take this moment to note the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, I’d like to call attention to our farmers, ranchers and farm workers; and the great work they do every day, no matter what Mother Nature throws at them. The twist that they—and all of us—are dealing with this year brings a whole new test of their adaptability and resiliency. 

They are meeting the challenge the only way they know how – through hard work and dedication in working with their employees to deliver food to grocery stores and food banks while simultaneously contending with a collapse of other parts of the supply chain. And they’re doing all that while maintaining all-important environmental stewardship. 

The livelihood of farmers and ranchers is tied to the land and to our communities – the understanding of natural cycles; sowing, tending and harvesting; conserving, recycling and streamlining; learning and improving. These cycles and so many more are at the heart of farming.

Every day is Earth Day in agriculture. Our farmers and ranchers are restoring the health of our soil, turning dairy emissions into energy, conserving water, reducing and optimizing fertilizer use, protecting pollinators, incorporating wildlife conservation into their business plans, and doing dozens of other things that contribute in real, quantifiable ways to combating climate change. And because of California’s leadership role in agriculture, we are also a beacon for other growers around the world to learn about what works and multiply our successes on their own land.

I’m proud of everything our farmers and ranchers and farm workers are doing, and I’m honored to be part of a department that helps them achieve these goals. I want them to know that we’re here for them through this crisis, and we will move forward with them when it’s over. 

I wish you all a 50th anniversary of Earth Day that is full of progress and optimism.

As international observers of Earth Day recognize its 50th year this week, CDFA would like to note an essential relationship between farmers and the Earth that goes back many centuries.

Farmers and ranchers are stewards of the land while providing for sustainability of life and the Earth itself.

CDFA offers several grant programs to help facilitate that stewardship, including the Healthy Soils Program.

Learn more about CDFA’s Office of Environment Farming and Innovation.