Category Archives: Disaster Assistance

USDA Offers Disaster Assistance to Farmers and Livestock Producers in California Impacted by Floods

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Office of Public Affairs

Flooded Strawberry field

From the USDA

California agricultural operations have been significantly impacted by the recent floods throughout the state. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has technical and financial assistance available to help farmers and livestock producers recover. Impacted producers should contact their local USDA Service Center to report losses and learn more about program options available to assist in their recovery from crop, land, infrastructure and livestock losses and damages.

“Production agriculture is vital to the California economy, and USDA stands ready to assist in the recovery from these catastrophic flood events,” said Zach Ducheneaux, Administrator of USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), who met with disaster-impacted producers last week in Fresno, Yuba, Salinas Valley and other areas.  “I assure you that USDA employees are working diligently to deliver our extensive portfolio of disaster assistance programs and services to all impacted agricultural producers. We’re also proud of recent updates FSA made to disaster assistance programs that allow us to improve our response to California producers.”

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SBA Positioned to Assist California Businesses and Residents Affected by the Statewide Winter Storm

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Low-interest federal disaster loans are now available to California businesses and residents as a result of President Biden’s major disaster declaration, U.S. Small Business Administration’s Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman announced.

The declaration covers Merced, Sacramento and Santa Cruz counties as a result of severe winter storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides that began Dec. 27, 2022.

“With President Biden’s declaration, SBA is working closely with FEMA and our state and local officials on the ground to deliver expedient disaster recovery loans and support that will aid Californians impacted by these severe and devastating winter storms, flooding and mudslides,” said Administrator Guzman. “My heartfelt condolences go out to the families who have lost loved ones, and I urge affected residents to stay safe and heed the guidance of local emergency officials. As the state faces continued rainfall and heightened risks of flooding and mudslides, the SBA is committed to providing the full breadth of our resources to help small businesses and communities recover and rebuild stronger than before.”

Businesses of all sizes and private nonprofit organizations may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory and other business assets. SBA can also lend additional funds to businesses and homeowners to help with the cost of improvements to protect, prevent or minimize the same type of disaster damage from occurring in the future.

For small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private nonprofit organizations of any size, SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster. Economic injury assistance is available to businesses regardless of any property damage.

Disaster loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible for up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property.

Interest rates can be as low as 3.305 percent for businesses, 2.375 percent for private nonprofit organizations and 2.313 percent for homeowners and renters with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition.

To be considered for all forms of disaster assistance, survivors must first contact the Federal Emergency Management Agency at www.disasterassistance.gov. As soon as Federal-State Disaster Recovery Centers open throughout the affected area, SBA will provide one-on-one assistance to disaster loan applicants. Additional information and details on the location of disaster recovery centers is available by calling the SBA Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955.

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Winter Storm Reminders, Resources, and Reporting

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Reporting Storm Related Damage Growers that have sustained damages due to these recent storms, need to report damages to the Sacramento County Agriculture Commissioner’s office with the Report of Loss Form.

Form can be found online at https://agcomm.saccounty.gov/Pages/default.aspx. 
Completed Report of Loss Forms may be hand delivered or mailed to either office below, or emailed to agcomm@saccounty.gov
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Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Extended to May 31, 2021

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By California Aquaculture Association

As President Joe Biden signed the PPP Extension Act of 2021 into law on March 30, 2021, extending the Paycheck Protection Program an additional two months to May 31, 2021, and then providing an additional 30-day period for the SBA to process applications that are still pending, Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration, said:

“President Biden sent another strong message to America’s more than 30 million small business owners negatively impacted by the pandemic: help is here. By signing the PPP Extension Act of 2021 and the American Rescue Plan Act into law, the President is providing additional critical relief to the smallest of the small businesses – the mom-and-pop shops that line our Main Streets and keep our local and regional economies going.

“The leadership of the Biden-Harris Administration, working with leaders of the House Small Business Committee, Chairwoman Nydia Velázquez, and Ranking Member Blaine Luetkemeyer, Reps. Carolyn Bourdeaux and Young Kim, and Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee Chairman Ben Cardin, and Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Susan Collins, ensured a strong bipartisan vote to extend this critical relief to hard-hit small businesses. More than 8.2 million PPP loans have provided struggling small businesses with the relief they need to keep workers employed and make ends meets during this pandemic. The SBA remains dedicated to reaching the heart and soul of the nation’s urban, rural, and low-income communities – the smallest businesses – and removing barriers to access this vital relief.” 

Learn more about PPP

US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Farm Service Agency (FSA), will accept new and modified Coronavirus Food Assistance Program

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The US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Farm Service Agency (FSA), will accept new and modified CFAP 2 applications beginning April 5, 2021. 

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced yesterday the U.S. Department of Agriculture will begin providing additional financial assistance to farmers, ranchers, and producers impacted by COVID-19 market disruptions. Resources for these payments were approved by Congress in fiscal years 2020 and 2021.

The original application period for CFAP 2 was September 21 through December 11, 2020. USDA will reopen CFAP 2 signup for all eligible producers beginning April 5, 2021. A deadline for signup will be announced at a later date. Learn more at farmers.gov/cfap. 

Aquaculture Eligibility

Aquaculture eligible for CFAP 2 includes: any species of aquatic organisms grown as food for human consumption, fish raised as feed for fish that are consumed by humans, and ornamental fish propagated and reared in an aquatic medium. Eligible aquaculture species must be raised by a commercial operator and in water in a controlled environment. This includes molluscan shellfish and seaweed that was previously covered under the U.S. Department of Commerce program.

Eligible sales only include sales of raw commodities grown by the producer. The portion of sales derived from adding value to the commodity, such as processing and packaging, and from sales of products purchased for resale is not included in the payment calculation.

CFAP 2 payments are available for eligible producers of aquaculture commodities, which are categorized as sales commodities. Payment calculations will use a sales-based approach, where producers of eligible commodities are paid based on five payment gradations associated with their 2019 sales.

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U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is Increasing the Lending Maximum Amount

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The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is increasing the maximum amount small businesses and non-profit organizations can borrow through its COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. Starting the week of April 6, 2021, the SBA is raising the loan limit for the COVID-19 EIDL program from 6-months of economic injury with a maximum loan amount of $150,000 to up to 24-months of economic injury with a maximum loan amount of $500,000.

Businesses that receive a loan subject to the current limits do not need to submit a request for an increase at this time. SBA will reach out directly via email and provide more details about how businesses can request an increase closer to the April 6 implementation date. Any new loan applications and any loans in process when the new loan limits are implemented will automatically be considered for loans covering 24 months of economic injury up to a maximum of $500,000.

This new relief builds on SBA’s previous March 12, 2021 announcement that the agency would extend deferment periods for all disaster loans, including COVID-19 EIDLs, until 2022 to offer more time for businesses to build back. In order to shift all EIDL payments to 2022, SBA will extend the first payment due date for disaster loans made in 2020 to 24-months from the date of the note and to 18-months from the date of the note for all loans made in the calendar year 2021.

Questions about SBA COVID-19 EIDL and disaster loan payments can be emailed to DisasterCustomerService@sba.gov or directed to SBA’s Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 (1-800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard of hearing).

Identified Gaps in Previous Aid, USDA Announces ‘Pandemic Assistance for Producers’ to Distribute Resources More Equitably

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Press Release Release No. 0056.21

Contact: USDA Press
Email: press@usda.gov

WASHINGTON, March 24, 2021 — Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that USDA is establishing new programs and efforts to bring financial assistance to farmers, ranchers and producers who felt the impact of COVID-19 market disruptions. The new initiative—USDA Pandemic Assistance for Producers—will reach a broader set of producers than in previous COVID-19 aid programs. USDA is dedicating at least $6 billion toward the new programs. The Department will also develop rules for new programs that will put a greater emphasis on outreach to small and socially disadvantaged producers, specialty crop and organic producers, timber harvesters, as well as provide support for the food supply chain and producers of renewable fuel, among others. Existing programs like the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP) will fall within the new initiative and, where statutory authority allows, will be refined to better address the needs of producers.

USDA Pandemic Assistance for Producers was needed, said Vilsack, after a review of previous COVID-19 assistance programs targeting farmers identified a number of gaps and disparities in how assistance was distributed as well as inadequate outreach to underserved producers and smaller and medium operations.

“The pandemic affected all of agriculture, but many farmers did not benefit from previous rounds of pandemic-related assistance. The Biden-Harris Administration is committed to helping as many producers as possible, as equitably as possible,” said Vilsack. “Our new USDA Pandemic Assistance for Producers initiative will help get financial assistance to a broader set of producers, including to socially disadvantaged communities, small and medium sized producers, and farmers and producers of less traditional crops.”

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Update: California Small Business COVID-19 Relief Grant Program

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The California Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA) are happy to announce there were over 300,000 applications successfully completed during Round 1 of the California Small Business Covid-19 Relief Grant Program.

Starting Tuesday, February 2, 2021, at 8:00 am PST Lendistry will open Round 2 for all small businesses and nonprofits to apply.

Round 1 applicants who did not receive funds DO NOT need to reapply. Your application was waitlisted and automatically rolled over for consideration in Round 2.

For new applicants in Round 2, please mark these dates and times on your calendar:

Round 2 opens Tuesday, February 2, 2021 at 8:00 am PST
Round 2 closes on Monday, February 8, 2021 at 6:00 pm PST
Notification about selection: February 11 – 18, 2021
Notification about Not selected: February 24, 2021

Before you apply: WATCH VIDEOS ON THE APPLICATION PROCESS To help you with the application process, Lendistry has prepared short videos that walk you through each step. To watch these videos, click here. We will continuously update this page with more videos in multiple languages.

REVIEW THE PROGRAM AND APPLICATION GUIDE The Program and Application Guide details the entire application process, step-by-step, and provides tips on how to improve your application experience. It also includes screenshots of the application and Portal to help you familiarize yourself with the process. To view the Program and Application Guide, click here.

DAILY WEBINARS Partners are conducting daily webinars that go over the program, application, and step-by-step instruction to complete the application. To view the calendar of daily webinars and access links, click here. 

PREPARE REQUIRED DOCUMENTS Review Section 8: Required Documents under “Program Overview” in the application guide for a list of required documents for the grant. The guide also provides tips and resources to help you properly scan your documents for upload. See Tip #3: Scan Your Documents Properly under “Tips for Applying”.

FIND AND APPLY THROUGH A PARTNER To apply for a grant, you will need to do so through a partner. You can find a partner by language or by county at www.CAReliefGrant.com. Please apply once and through one partner only.

Additional Application Tips: A partner to the program or the Lendistry team can help you navigate the process. Lendistry’s call center is available at 888.612.4370. Call Center times starting February 2nd are as follows:

7am – 11pm weekdays
8am – 12pm Saturdays
Last day until 8pm

For partner assistance, please contact the partner in which you started or submitted your application with.

You can find an application certification here for for-profits and here for non-profits.  

The application process is NOT first-come, first-serve. You have within the time frame listed above to apply.     

Small Business Administration (SBA) Re-Opening Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) to Small Lenders Jan 15, 2021 and All Lenders Jan 19, 2021

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The U.S. Small Business Administration, in consultation with the U.S. Treasury Department, will re-open the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan portal to PPP-eligible lenders with $1 billion or less in assets for First and Second Draw applications on Friday, January 15, 2021 at 9 a.m. EST. The portal will fully open on Tuesday, January 19, 2021 to all participating PPP lenders to submit First and Second Draw loan applications to SBA.

Earlier in the week, SBA granted dedicated PPP access to Community Financial Institutions (CFIs) which include Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs), Certified Development Companies (CDCs), and Microloan Intermediaries as part of the agency’s ongoing efforts to reach underserved and minority small businesses.

On Friday, SBA will continue its emphasis on reaching smaller lenders and businesses by opening to approximately 5,000 more lenders, including community banks, credit unions, and farm credit institutions.  Moreover, the agency also plans to have dedicated service hours for these smaller lenders after the portal fully re-opens next week.

First Draw PPP Loans are for those borrowers who have not received a PPP loan before August 8, 2020.

Second Draw PPP Loans are for eligible small businesses with 300 employees or less, that previously received a First Draw PPP Loan and will use or have used the full amount only for authorized uses, and that can demonstrate at least a 25% reduction in gross receipts between comparable quarters in 2019 and 2020. The maximum amount of a Second Draw PPP loan is $2 million. 

Updated PPP Lender forms, guidance, and resources are available at www.sba.gov/ppp and www.treasury.gov/cares.

SBA Extends Crucial Lifeline to Borrowers Impacted by COVID-19 with Debt Relief

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As the U.S. Small Business Administration continues implementation of the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits and Venues Act, signed into law by President Trump on Dec. 27, 2020, SBA Administrator Jovita Carranza made the following statement in regards to Section 325:

“Small business is big business in America, and this Administration will continue to extend a lifeline to small business owners during this critical time. Congress charged the SBA with making debt relief payments (principal, interest and fee payments) under Section 1112 of the CARES Act to help borrowers in SBA’s 7(a), 504 and Microloan programs; and now SBA is working expeditiously to implement the newly enacted assistance.

The new law extends SBA debt relief authority, allowing the Administration to continue alleviating adverse economic effects of COVID-19 for small businesses with SBA loans. Since April last year, the SBA has made over $7.1 billion in payments across 1,819,130 loans on behalf of these borrowers. It’s important to note that these firms were also initially able to access capital because of the SBA federal guarantee.”

The SBA is determining how much additional debt relief assistance can be provided to SBA borrowers with the newly issued Congressional appropriation. Debt Relief guidance will soon be posted on the SBA website.