Are you a livestock producer whose operation has been directly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic? The Coronavirus Food Assistance Program provides direct relief to producers who faced price declines and additional marketing costs due to COVID-19.
The Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, or CFAP, provides vital financial assistance to producers of agricultural commodities who have suffered a five-percent-or-greater price decline or who had losses due to market supply chain disruptions due to COVID-19 and face additional significant market costs. USDA is accepting applications now through September 11, 2020. Learn more at farmers.gov/cfap.
Eligible Livestock
CFAP assistance is available to livestock producers who have an ownership interest in eligible livestock that have suffered a five percent-or-greater price decline as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and face additional significant costs in marketing their inventories due to unexpected surplus and disrupted markets.
Livestock eligible for CFAP include cattle, hogs, and sheep. Specifically, eligible livestock are:
- Hogs
- Pigs < 120 lbs.
- Hogs > 120 lbs.
- Cattle (excluding beefalo, bison, and animals used for dairy production or intended for dairy production)
- Feeder Cattle < 600 lbs.
- Feeder Cattle > 600 lbs.
- Slaughter Cattle: Fed Cattle (> 1,200 lbs. intended for slaughter)
- Slaughter Cattle: Mature Cattle (culled breeding cattle intended for slaughter)
- All Other Cattle (breeding, replacements, and all other cattle not included in other categories).
- Sheep
- Lambs and Yearlings (less than two years of age)
- All Other Sheep (great than two years of age)
USDA announced CFAP eligibility of sheep greater than two years of age on August 11 as a result of data and comments submitted by the public through the Notice of Funding Availability.
Common Livestock Types
The table below provides a crosswalk between commonly used livestock terminology and CFAP livestock categories.
| Cattle Common Name | Description | CFAP Category |
|---|---|---|
| Newborn Calf | Calves from birth to days old | Feeder Cattle: < 600 lbs |
| Calf | Calves still nursing the cow, animals that generally weigh less than 500 pounds | Feeder Cattle: < 600 lbs |
| Bucket Calf | Orphan or newborn calf normally purchased when they are 1 to 10 days old | Feeder Cattle: < 600 lbs |
| Heiferette | A female bovine animal that has not calved and weighs more than 500 pounds; OR a heifer placed on feed following the loss of a calf or an open heifer placed on feed following the breeding season | Feeder Cattle: < or > 600 lbs, as applicable |
| Steer | A castrated male bovine animal that generally weighs more than 500 pounds | Feeder Cattle: < or > 600 lbs, as applicable |
| Weaner or Weaned Calf | Animal between 105 and 355 days coming from cow-calf | Feeder Cattle: < or > 600 lbs, as applicable |
| Backgrounded Cattle | Steers and heifers that are fed a warm up or conditioning ration are normally fed to approximately 700 pounds, and then sold as feeders or shipped to another feedlot to be finished for the slaughter market | Feeder Cattle: < or > 600 lbs, as applicable |
| Stockers/Feeders/Feeder Calves | Young weaned steers or heifers, weighing approximately 400-800 pounds usually grazing on pasture and/or feed ration to prepare for shipment to feeders intended for slaughter or selected for replacement stock | Feeder Cattle: < or > 600 lbs, as applicable |
| Yearlings | Calves between 1 and 2 years of age | Feeder Cattle > 600 lbs |
| Open Heifer | Non-pregnant female bovine | Feeder Cattle: < or > 600 lbs, as applicable |
| Replacement Heifers | A heifer that has been selected to be bred and placed in the beef herd | All Other Cattle |
| Bred Heifers | A female bovine that is pregnant with her first calf | All Other Cattle |
| First Calf Heifers | A young female that has had only one calf | All Other Cattle |
| Bred Cows | A female bovine animal that has borne at least one calf | All Other Cattle |
| Open Cows – Retained in Herd | (Non-pregnant) cows at the end of the breeding season | All Other Cattle |
| Open Cows – Slaughter | (Non-pregnant) cows at the end of the breeding season | Slaughter Cattle: Mature |
| Cows-Culled (Beef and Dairy) | A cow that is removed from the main breeding herd or dairy production for one or more reasons (i.e., age, poor production, physical ailment, poor disposition, genetic selection, etc.) and is generally sold for slaughter and not destined to be a replacement | Slaughter Cattle: Mature |
| Herd Bulls-Culled (Beef and Dairy) | A mature (approximately 24 months of age or older) uncastrated, male bovine removed from the main breeding herd sold for slaughter and not destined to be replacement | Slaughter Cattle: Mature |
| Herd Bulls (Breeding-Beef only) | A mature (approximately 24 months of age or older) uncastrated, male bovine used for breeding purposes | All Other Cattle |
| Finished Cattle (1200 lbs or more) | Cattle that have reached the optimal weight and conditions ready for slaughter | Slaughter Cattle: Fed |
| Fat Steer/Heifer (1200 lbs or more) | Cattle that have reached the optimal weight and conditions ready for slaughter | Slaughter Cattle: Fed |
Livestock that are no longer used for dairy production and entered the beef cattle market, if all other eligibility requirements are met, may be eligible for CFAP and would be categorized accordingly.
CFAP Payments for Livestock
A single payment for livestock will be calculated using the sum of the producer’s number of livestock sold between January 15 and April 15, 2020, multiplied by the payment rates per head, and the highest inventory number of livestock between April 16 and May 14, 2020, multiplied by the payment rate per head.
Producers must provide the following information for CFAP:
- Total owned, unpriced inventory as of January 15, 2020, that was sold between January 15th and April 15th. These sales must be separated by species and class, and can include any offspring from inventory that was sold.
- Highest inventory of owned eligible livestock, by species and class, on a date selected by the producer between April 16 and May 14, 2020.
The following table lists eligible livestock and payment rates for CFAP.
| Livestock | Eligible Livestock | Unit of Measure | CARES Act Part 1 Payment Rate | CCC Part 2 Payment Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cattle | Feeder Cattle: Less than 600 Pounds | Head | $102.00 | $33.00 |
| Feeder Cattle: 600 Pounds or More | Head | $139.00 | $33.00 | |
| Slaughter Cattle: Fed Cattle | Head | $214.00 | $33.00 | |
| Slaughter Cattle: Mature Cattle | Head | $92.00 | $33.00 | |
| All Other Cattle | Head | $102.00 | $33.00 | |
| Hogs and Pigs | Pigs: Less than 120 Pounds | Head | $28.00 | $17.00 |
| Hogs: 120 Pounds or More | Head | $18.00 | $17.00 | |
| Sheep | Lambs and Yearlings: All Sheep Less than 2 Years Old | Head | $33.00 | $7.00 |
| All Other Sheep: All Sheep Greater than 2 Years Old | Head | $24.00 | $7.00 |
Additional information for livestock producers is available in our fact sheet, Coronavirus Food Assistance Program for Livestock Producers. This fact sheet is also available in Spanish and Puerto Rican Spanish.
