The federal government stepped in this week to offer more aid to the nation’s farmers in the form of small business loans.
Last spring, farmers in Georgia had to fight to protect their crops from an arctic blast. Even when they got past that, crops such as cotton, peanuts, corn and soybeans became causalities of the U.S.-China trade war.
With the absence of the icy weather, the spring planting season – March to May – looked promising this year, Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black said. The coronavirus pandemic, however, has created a new calamity for Georgia farmers: a weakening demand for products.
“In many cases, people have lost 50 percent of the market. That’s certainly true with dairy,” Black said during an April 23 virtual conference with Georgia Chamber of Commerce President Chris Clark and other business leaders. “I think many of you have been horrified as I am. We have all these resources, but you know, nowhere for them to go.”
School closures and food-service slowdowns caused by the response to the pandemic reduced the demand for farm products. Last month, Gov. Brian Kemp called COVID-19 another “punch in the gut” for farmers. In addition to the lack of demand for the upcoming harvest, many farmers also are contractually obligated to pay workers 75 percent of their agreed wages.
This week, farmers will be able to get more aid from the federal government.
The U.S. Small Business Administration announced Monday agricultural businesses are eligible for Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and EIDL Advance programs – made possible by the $484 billion Paycheck Protection Program and Healthcare Enhancement Act signed by President Donald Trump on April 24.
More than 93 percent of Georgia farms are small, many of which are family owned, according to researchers at the University of Georgia.
Black said the Georgia Department of Agriculture took steps to soften the economic blow on the $75 billion industry.
Black extended the deadline for the Farm Recovery Block Grant program meant to help certain farmers who experienced loss from Hurricane Michael, which made landfall in October 2018. The final deadline for the program was April 30.
The Department of Agriculture did not respond to request for comment Tuesday, but Black said during the April 23 meeting he is not sure what the “new normal” would be mean for supply chains.
“I’d say there’s gonna be a lot of free-thinking of: ‘What are my supply relationships? How do I get that supplier relationship closer to me?’ ” said Black, who also has been working with other industry leaders to figure out ways to turn the agribusiness forecast around.
