Update June 20, 2020

This week, the Small Business Administration announced some updates to their programs to assist small businesses with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Paycheck Protection Program

** The deadline to apply for the PPP is June 30^th. When this program was originally announced earlier this spring, the condition for the loan to be forgiven (the loan essentially becomes a grant) was that a business would have to keep everyone on their payroll or re-hire laid off staff within 8 weeks. That deadline has now been extended to 24 weeks from the date of the loan being approved, or by December 31, 2020, whichever comes first. You can read more about the PPP below or click here to get information from the SBA.

Economic Injury Disaster Loan

High demand had slowed down the process of getting applications to the EIDL program approved, and at one point, only agricultural business applications could submit new applications. As of June 15, the SBA is accepting new EIDL applications from all eligible small businesses and U.S. agricultural businesses. EIDL applicants who have already submitted their applications will continue to be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. To learn more about eligibility and apply, click here and read the description below.

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UPDATE:  April 24, 2020

More Funding for Paycheck Protection Program:  OPEN April 27, 2020

Farms Now Eligible for Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL)

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April 3, 2020

The CARES Act (the stimulus package passed in late March) sets up two main programs for small businesses, administered by the Small Business Administration.

Here is a flow chart from the House Small Business Committee that shows the difference between the two programs.

One program is Economic Injury Disaster Loans. This is a loan that has to be paid back, and as of April 2^nd, it is not open to farms. Many groups, including OFA, are working to try to refine the requirements for this program so that farms can apply.

The other SBA program is the Paycheck Protection Program. This starts out as a loan, but if businesses keep people on the payroll for 8 weeks and the money is used for payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities, the loan can be forgiven (or partially forgiven based on how long people stay on the payroll). Farms can apply to this program.

Food-related businesses should be able to apply to either program (if they meet all the criteria).

Banks approved by the Small Business Administration (including some in the farm credit system) are supposed to start processing Paycheck Protection Program applications on Friday, April 3rd and demand for the program is expected to be extremely high.

If you are considering applying for this program, contact your bank as soon as possible. (Or you can find a qualified lender on the SBA website).

The U.S. Department of Agriculture also received funding in the stimulus bill to direct aid to farms, including for specialty crop, livestock and producers who supply local markets. We do not yet know the details of how this money will be spent, but OFA is working to make sure that organic producers can qualify.

Useful Links:

Washington Post Article on How to Get Small Biz Loan: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/03/30/heres-how-get-small-business-loan-under-349-billion-coronavirus-aid-bill/

Small Business Owner’s Gudie to the CARES Act:  https://delgado.house.gov/sites/delgado.house.gov/files/The%20Small%20Business%20Owner’s%20Guide%20to%20the%20CARES%20Act.pdf

Paycheck Protection Program Information from the Small Business Administration

Small Business Administration Covid-19 Relief Options

There are also other programs that the SBA uses for disaster lending (like micro loans and bridge loans), sometimes in cooperation with the states. Getting in touch with a SBA regional office or a Small Business Development Center is also a good idea to see if there are other programs that might work for you.