Notice to Program Participants of the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Farmers Program
WASHINGTON, April 4, 2011—The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) today announced cash payments to producers who were approved under the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) for Farmers Program and who successfully complete the technical assistance training requirements. The TAA for Farmers Program provides technical training and cash benefits to eligible U.S. producers and fishermen of raw agricultural commodities whose crops or catch have been adversely affected by imports of like or directly competitive commodities.
In June 2010, FAS certified group petitions filed by U.S. asparagus and catfish producers, both nationwide, and by U.S. shrimp producers in the Gulf and South Atlantic regions. As a result, more than 5,000 producers applied for training and cash benefits under the FY 2010 program.
Under the FY 2010 program, eligible producers will receive up to $4,000 in cash payments for developing and implementing an approved initial business plan, and an additional $8,000 for developing and implementing an approved long-term business plan. A producer may not receive more than $12,000 under the FY 2010 program. Cash payments, which USDA will begin to process in May, are based on the number of approved applications during a fiscal year and the amount of available fiscal-year funding. Producers may not receive benefits under any other TAA for Farmers petition during the 36-month period following certification of a group petition.
The program was first established under the Trade Act of 2002, and expired on December 31, 2007. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 reauthorized and modified the program and provided appropriations of $90 million for FY 2010 and $22.5 million for the first quarter of FY 2011.
Points of Contact
General information about the TAA for Farmers Program can be found on the TAA for Farmers Web site at: http://www.taaforfarmers.org/ or the FAS Web site at: www.fas.usda.gov/itp/taa.asp. For more information, contact the TAA for Farmers Program staff in the Office of Trade Programs at telephone (202) 720-0638 or by e-mail at tradeadjustment@fas.usda.gov.
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