Almond Board Chair Holly King (front right) joined Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue (front left) and other agricultural leaders at the White House on May 23, 2019, to discuss details of the second trade mitigation package with President Trump.
(March 6, 2020) – Today marks three months since the deadline for almond growers to apply for USDA’s 2019 Market Facilitation Program (MFP), part of a three-fold trade mitigation package first established in 2018 that also included a Food Purchase and Distribution program as well as a Trade Promotion Program.
USDA released the first trade mitigation package, which included almonds, on Sept. 21, 2018. USDA then announced almonds would be included in its second mitigation package on May 23, 2019, during a White House briefing attended by Almond Board of California (ABC) Chair, Holly A. King. The effort to include almonds in both packages was made possible largely by ABC’s close work with the Almond Alliance of California, ensuring the voice of the California almond industry was heard at the national level.
The Almond Board recently had an opportunity to sit down with the California Farm Service Agency (FSA), which is overseen by USDA, to discuss their administration of both the 2018 and 2019 programs and learn more about almond growers’ participation in MFP.
ABC: How many almond growers applied for the 2019 MFP?
CA FSA: Currently, over 4,200 almond operations have applied and qualified to receive 2019 program funding. We are still processing applications – as of now, we have 700 left to review. Including almonds, around 10,900 operations across all eligible crops and dairy have applied and qualified.
ABC: Is this amount of participation higher or lower than expected?
CA FSA: We expected greater participation in the 2019 program versus the 2018 program because 2019 payment rates were higher and had no Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) limit, as long as 75% of the producer’s income was derived from farming, ranching, etc.
Based on conversations we had with producers who applied in 2019 but not in 2018, the higher payment rate was a big reason they applied for the second round of MFP funding. Also, in 2019 payments were based on bearing acres instead of pounds. In 2018, MFP payments were based on 3 cents per pound of almonds produced. In a typical orchard with an average yield of 2,200 pounds per acre, that works out to about $66 per acre. In 2019, USDA revised the payment formula to $146 per acre. That means for a grower with 80 acres of almonds, MFP payments were worth roughly $5,280 through the 2018 program and $11,680 through the 2019 program.
ABC: Did many almond growers apply for both the 2018 and 2019 MFP?
CA FSA: Yes, nearly everyone who applied for the 2018 program also applied for the 2019 program once it became available, though, as previously mentioned, we still had quite a few producers who only applied for the 2019 program because of its higher payment rate.
ABC: When does FSA expect to finish processing applications for the 2019 program?
CA FSA: We hope to be done by April 1, though a few counties have appointments with producers through March 20.
We are also still waiting to receive eligibility documents from certain applicants who visited an FSA office and took home papers to sign. We highly encourage producers to send any missing documents to their local FSA office ASAP as they will not receive payment until all necessary documents are received.
ABC: How long should it take to receive payment?
CA FSA: Once we have all the necessary documentation (for an individual’s operation), it will take about a week’s time for them to receive payment. If multiple partners have applied for funds for one operation, we need to receive signed documents from each party before issuing those payments – and oftentimes this is where a delay in payment occurs.
If you’re a producer who turned in all your paperwork a couple weeks ago and still hasn’t heard from your local FSA office, please call that office to follow up on the progress of your payment.
ABC: What feedback did you hear from growers who applied for the 2019 program?
CA FSA: There was consensus among not only almond growers but all applicants who applied in both 2018 and 2019 that the process to apply was much simpler the second time around – that’s largely because FSA already had their farm records in our system. Beyond that, we continue to hear from all producers that the Market Facilitation Program has been helpful in supporting the financial wellbeing of their operations.
ABC: Going forward, how can growers who participated in MFP leverage the fact that their farm records are already in the FSA system?
CA FSA: With their records already established, growers will face a much simpler process when looking to participate in a number of other FSA programs, including the Tree Assistance Program as well as disaster recovery programs.
