Please find below information from Commissioner Fried on
federal assistance programs available for those in the agriculture industry:
With continued questions about federal assistance for the
agriculture industry, we are providing this update on current aid programs and
some of the ways we at FDACS are working for you during this difficult time.
Today, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has
launched the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
• PPP loans are designed
to provide a direct incentive for small businesses to keep their workers on the
payroll and the SBA will forgive loans if all employees are kept on the payroll
for eight weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or
utilities.
• All agriculture
businesses are eligible as long as size standards are met. To learn more and
apply today, please visit: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.sba.gov_paycheckprotection&d=DwIFaQ&c=sJ6xIWYx-zLMB3EPkvcnVg&r=f3lfR0AwRwDpfvASMTBYig&m=HjmfUXzYibIi7f0K_F_JTcsU-Ws2f3GLsturBbOPy1w&s=A9kR2TkzRvg6eWD-pjesgjM6K8lQSv7W1DoCp6NDP2c&e=
We are continuing to work with Senator Marco Rubio’s office
to ask the SBA to temporarily allow the agriculture sector to apply for EIDL
loans during this current crisis.
• Until this eligibility
is clarified for farmers, ranchers, and nursery operations, only small
aquaculture operations, small agriculture cooperatives, and
agriculture-dependent entities, such as restaurants, grocery stores,
convenience stores, farmers markets, packinghouses, and distributors, are
eligible for EIDL if size standards are met.
Following the passage of the CARES Act, which provided $9.5
billion to directly support the agriculture industry impacted by COVID-19, I
also called on Secretary Perdue to move swiftly on establishing USDA programs
to get this much-needed assistance into the hands of farmers as well as to
immediately exercise his agency’s Section 32 purchasing authority to help
Florida producers struggling to move perishable products due to the closure of
many restaurants and other food service establishments.
We have welcomed the updated guidance from the Department of
State expanding the scope of H-2A processing. I want to make sure you saw that
the USDA heard our calls for crop insurance flexibilities, which you can learn
more about here.
We will be sure to pass along more information on USDA
assistance as it becomes available. In the meantime, we encourage all producers
to keep track of all data pertaining to losses/disruptions during this time in
anticipation of these programs.
We at FDACS are fighting every day for Florida’s agriculture
industry and consumers, advocating for the support and policy changes needed
during this challenging time. Please do not hesitate to reach out your regional
director (contact information below) with any questions or concerns.
Thank you for all that you are doing,
Nikki Fried
Stephanie McClung Cardozo
Director, External Affairs
Email: Stephanie.McClung@fdacs.gov
Phone: (850) 631-1447
Katherine Goletz
Deputy Director, External Affairs
Email: Katherine.Goletz@fdacs.gov
Phone: (850) 544-1309
Danielle Price
Regional Director – NE Florida, External Affairs and
Diversity and Inclusion
Email: Danielle.Price@fdacs.gov
Phone: (850) 404-4987
Helen Miller
Regional Director – Space Coast, External Affairs
Email: Helen.Miller@fdacs.gov
Phone: (850) 766-8466
Alan Brock
Regional Director – Southwest Florida, External Affairs
Email: Alan.Brock@fdacs.gov
Phone: (850) 688-2082
Ricardo Alvarez
Regional Director – South Florida, External Affairs
Email: Ricardo.Alvarez@fdacs.gov
Phone: (850) 766-8583
Dick Crockett
Regional Director – NW Florida, External Affairs Rural
Outreach
Email: richard.crockett@fdacs.gov
Phone: (863) 673-1013
Ed Rodriguez
Veterans Affairs Director
Email: Ed.Rodriguez@fdacs.gov
Phone: (850) 766-8582
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