It took hemp farmers and producers almost a full year into the global Covid pandemic before they got to see some financial aid to help with the costs and expenses they have been feeling since the beginning.
Hemp farmers haven’t qualified for relief under the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP.) The program required companies to clearly show a 5% price decline because of hemp’s classification of a flat-rate crop. The hemp industry did not meet this 5% price decrease for the first quarter of 2020. There was around a 1 percent decrease in some companies. Others didn’t have enough available data to show a price change.
In September of 2020, Congress approved a $14 billion dollar stimulus package for the USDA’s usage for farm and food industry companies. This finally included the hemp industry. This was 6 months after the pandemic began, but sometimes funding is better late than never. Companies had from the end of September to the middle of December of 2020 to apply for funding. A second application period opened up in January of 2021.
New Year
January 20, 2021 saw a new President sworn in and a new administration set up. President Biden gave a generalized freeze to all applications pending review for everything, not just USDA Covid relief funding applications. Once nominees are appointed and confirmed by Congress, then applications will be reviewed again. Industry members are still feeling the effects of the pandemic. They haven’t received any relief they need to continue their businesses.
The USDA stated that applications can still be submitted for this new application period at local offices. They assure that all applications will be viewed and approved in a timely manner once the President lifts the temporary freeze to funding. It is unknown when President Biden will lift the funding freeze. While they wait, hemp farmers could still see a huge struggle ahead of them. It may be difficult for them to recover until funding becomes available.
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