Legislature Makes Changes to COVID Ag Relief Program (VCAAP) – Extends Deadline & Plenty of $$ Still Available

As part of the final budget bill adopted before the 2020 Legislature adjourned at the end of September (Act 154 – see page 137), important changes were made to the COVID Ag Relief funding program (VCAAP). These changes address problems that Rural Vermont, NOFA-VT, and other allied organizations identified in testimony to the Senate and House Ag Committees.

Below are the key changes you need to know about along with additional information Rural Vermont has gathered by direct communication with staff at VAAFM.

Key Changes to the VCAAP Program:

  1. The deadline for applications for all the COVID Ag Relief Funding Programs has been extended to November 15, 2020. NOTE: The VCAAP online application is currently unavailable while the legislative changes are being made. It is expected to be back online by the end of Oct – watch for a press release from VAAFM.

  2. Eligible applicants with a net business profit between March 1 and August 1, 2020 are not disqualified from the Agriculture & Working Lands Grant Program.

  3. Eligible sole proprietors are no longer disqualified from the Agriculture & Working Lands Grant Program because they did not file a W-2 form for themselves or an employee in the 2018 or 2019 taxable year.

  4. A business may now apply for more than one State grant funded by federal Coronavirus Relief Funds, but not for the same purpose as another grant or to cover the same losses or costs.

  5. The Vermont Agency of Agriculture expects to establish a VCAAP Farmers’ Market Assistance Application for farmers’ markets that do not qualify for the current program because their annual gross sales are less than $10,000. The maximum award for this new program will be $2,000.

  6. The Vermont Agency of Agriculture will establish a VCAAP Farm to School Assistance Application for eligible schools and child-care providers. The maximum Farm to School Assistance award will be $10,000.

Additional, continuously updated, information about the REVISED VCAAP application process is available on the VAAFM website. In addition, the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board’s (VHCB) Farm Viability Program is providing technical assistance to farms and farm businesses seeking to apply for COVID Ag Relief Funding Programs. You can contact them through their website or by calling Mariah Noth at 802-828-1098.

Rural Vermont