Category Archives: Updates

USDA Provides Payments of nearly $800 Million in Assistance to Help Keep Farmers Farming

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Courtesy of NAA:

Immediate Help for Over 13,000 Distressed USDA Farm Loan Borrowers; Begins process to provide up to $500 million more for up to 23,000 additional borrowers

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that distressed borrowers with qualifying USDA farm loans have already received nearly $800 million in assistance, as part of the $3.1 billion in assistance for distressed farm loan borrowers provided through Section 22006 of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The IRA directed USDA to expedite assistance to distressed borrowers of direct or guaranteed loans administered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) whose operations face financial risk.

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National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) – Small Business Programs

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USDA NIFA has now released the FY23 SBIR/STTR Phase 1 RFA.

The SBIR program supports US-based small businesses solving issues (with commercial potential) related to food and agriculture. This program has and continues to support an Aquaculture priority area (SBIR 8.7).

Here are the links to information and to the application package on grants.gov:

Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Programs Phase I | National Institute of Food and Agriculture (usda.gov)

View Opportunity | GRANTS.GOV

Please share the RFA links with any interested parties and let any and all know that if they are interested in applying they can email me at timothy.sullivan@usda.gov and I will provide them with all requisite information.

Thanks in advance for your help in growing the USDA NIFA SBIR 8.7 program area priority!

Tim

Tim Sullivan, National Program Leader, Animal Health and Aquaculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Invitation to Webinar Regarding New Aquaculture Lease Applications: Criteria for Public Interest Determination, on July 12, 2022

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Dear Members of the California Ocean Community, 

California Department of Fish and Wildlife (Department) and California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) staff invite interested stakeholders participate in a public workshop series related to developing potential criteria for Commission use when determining if individual proposed new state water bottom leases for aquaculture are in the public interest.

An introductory webinar will be held via Zoom, July 12, 2022 from 1:00-2:00 p.m. At the introductory webinar, the Department will present an overview of initial draft criteria and answer questions; the public will have the opportunity to provide input on the initial draft criteria during the Commission’s Marine Resources Committee meeting later that week and at subsequent workshop(s) (see below). 

This effort to define criteria by which the Commission will make its determination of whether each new aquaculture lease application should be further considered is being facilitated by the Marine Resources Committee, where full public discussion and written comment is encouraged. The Marine Resources Committee will next meet on July 14, 2022 in Santa Rosa and via webinar/teleconference.

Additional information and background context on this effort, as well as meeting and support materials, are available at the Department’s Aquaculture webpage, including background materials and the initial draft criteria.

Materials and information on how to join the July 12 webinar will be posted to the Commission’s meetings page early next week, at https://fgc.ca.gov/Meetings/2022.  Webinar Registration please select: Registration.

The next installment of the workshop series is expected to occur later this summer or early fall, for stakeholder input on revised draft criteria once it is prepared. If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact us at: AquacultureCoord@wildlife.ca.gov or FGC@fgc.ca.gov.

We look forward to your participation.

Thank you,

Randy Lovell
State Aquaculture Coordinator
CA Department of Fish and Wildlife

Melissa Miller-Henson
Executive Director
CA Fish and Game Commission

2022 Census of Agriculture

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The 2022 Census of Agriculture is right around the corner and USDA NASS is making every effort to count all aquaculture producers in the United States.  

If you produce any aquaculture products and want to make sure that you are counted in the 2022 Census of Agriculture and the 2023 Census of Aquaculture, please sign up your operation using this online form:  2023 Census of Aquaculture.

Once you have signed up, you might receive a short survey in the next two years to further categorize your operation. But most likely, you will not receive a survey until the 2022 Census of Agriculture in January or February, 2023.

When signing up, please keep these items in mind to better understand how USDA NASS counts aquaculture production:

  • To be counted as an aquaculture farm, some form of intervention in the rearing process, such as seeding, stocking, feeding, or protection from predators, must be done by the producer. 
  • Aquaculture is defined as the farming of aquatic organisms, including baitfish, crustaceans, food fish, mollusks, ornamental fish, sport or game fish, algae and sea vegetables, and other aquaculture products. 
  • Fish, shellfish, and other aquatic products which are caught or harvested by the public from non-controlled waters or beds without any intervention, or input costs, are considered wild caught and are NOT included in the USDA NASS count of aquaculture farms.

Remember, participating in the 2022 Census of Agriculture and the 2023 Census of Aquaculture is Your Voice, Your Future, and Your Opportunity. To learn more about the Census of Agriculture and Aquaculture, visit www.agcensus.usda.gov.

All information you provide will be held confidential under penalty of federal law.  There is NO sharing of individual farm financial data with other federal agencies other than the final compiled reports that are publicly available.  Since NASS surveys are conducted for statistical purposes only, individual reports are protected by law, even from other governmental agencies. Please read and share the NASS Confidentiality Pledge.

If you have any questions, contact Tony Dorn at tony.dorn@usda.gov or (202) 690-3223.

NOAA Maps Options for Aquaculture Opportunity Areas (AOA) – “Aquaculture Atlases”

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Courtesy of National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS)

Monday, November 15, 2021 NOAA released two Atlases compiling the best available science to inform the identification of Aquaculture Opportunity Areas (AOAs) in the Gulf of Mexico and Southern California. NOAA previously identified these regions for their potential to host sustainable commercial aquaculture development in the United States. Areas in the Atlases will have characteristics expected to support multiple types of aquaculture industries including finfish, shellfish, seaweed, or some combination. 

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Application Now Open for SOAR Shellfish Growers Resiliency Fund

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Photo from NOAA Fisheries

The SOAR Shellfish Growers Resiliency Fund aims to pave the way for a more resilient and sustainable U.S. shellfish industry that benefits the ocean and the communities which rely upon it.

The fund offers small awards (up to $20,000) targeted toward shellfish growers, and large awards (up to $100,000) to address systemic issues facing the shellfish industry.

The small and large funding tracks have different eligibility requirements, application and reporting requirements, priorities, and deadlines. For full details and to apply, visit the resiliency fund website. If you have any questions, please contact SOAR Program Coordinator Christina Popolizio (c.d.popolizio@tnc.org).

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

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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