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Abstract
The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic caused disruptions to the U.S. agriculture sector, including a decline in commodity prices in the first half of 2020. To mitigate the effects of the pandemic, Congress passed six economic relief and stimulus bills in 2020. One bill authorized USDA to create the Coronavirus Food Assistance Programs (CFAP 1 and CFAP 2), which provided direct payments to farm operations. Other Federal departments and agencies created broader programs from which both farm operations and family farm households were eligible to receive assistance. For example, the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) offered forgivable loans, and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (EIDL) provided forgivable advances. Most family farm households were also eligible for Economic Impact Payments (EIP), administered by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). And family farm households that lost off-farm wages were eligible for the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) administered by the U.S. Department of Labor.