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CARES Act offers aid to farmers, Peterson says

MARSHALL — Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., held a phone call conference on Thursday afternoon, addressing several questions about farming and other agriculture issues that has been raised in the state in the ongoing fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

One of those topics included relief for farmers, ranchers and other small businesses. President Donald Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) on March 27, a more than $2 trillion stimulus package for businesses and citizens who are impacted by the pandemic.

In the CARES Act, of the $23.5 billion of aid that is available for farmers, $9.5 billion of that is allocated for livestock producers, dairy farmers, restaurants and schools, speciality crops and producers of local food systems/farmers markets.

Provisions of the CARES Act also include Paycheck Protection Program Loans (PPPL) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL). The PPPL will help cover costs for payroll, interest as well as rent and other utilities.

Peterson added that the maximum for a loan amount is $10 million and equals about 2.5 times the average monthly payroll for a business and is available to all small businesses with fewer than 500 employees. The Small Business Association will also provide eight weeks of loan forgiveness as long as the company continues to maintain staff and payroll that extends until the end of June, with applications being accepted by banks starting today or the beginning of next week.

Meanwhile, the EIDL has a loan amount of up to $2 million, which is based on actual economic injury that is determined by the SBA. The SBA can also provide up to $10,000 in emergency grants to those who apply for the EIDL that need it.

In addition to contacting your local FSA officer, Peterson said farmers or ranchers should also become familiar with their local SBA.

“Our intention is to make it available to farmers and the Secretary has worked hard to have this apply to farmers,” Peterson said. “Farmers will have access to these loans and at the end of the day, they need to be treated the same as small businesses, so we need to find out what best fits their operation and hopefully it keeps them in business.”

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