DAIRY FARMS IMPACTED BY CORONAVIRUS
Farming, including Dairy Farming, is a vital part of the North Country economy. As the coronavirus pandemic continues, the impact on our Dairy farms is growing. The normal markets for their products have been disrupted as restaurants and schools are closed and people visit grocery stores less often. Like many other industry sectors, farmers need assistance to get through this, and the assistance must meet their special needs, which are often different than for other types of businesses. The
Chamber
is working, in cooperation with the
Farm Bureau
, to identify resources to help farmers during this difficult time.
The CARES Act
provided some assistance for farmers, and we’ve provided some of the options below.
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)
Farms are eligible to apply for PPP loans. However, the requirement that compensation for employees whose principal place of residence is outside the United States cannot be used when calculating the reimbursement may reduce the amount that can be accessed through the program. Here is a link to the Chamber website with information on where to apply for PPP loans and other assistance programs.
Department of Agriculture
The CARES Act
included $9.5 billion to provide financial support to farmers and ranchers impacted by coronavirus. This will allow USDA to begin crafting an appropriate relief program for agriculture. The Chamber will be monitoring developments on this front as information becomes available to help ensure the funding is implemented in appropriate ways.
Funding to replenish the Agriculture Department’s Commodity Credit Corporation. This money may be used, in part, for the Agency’s Market Facilitation Program (MFP) to help farms that export to foreign markets.
