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Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers

Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers. TAA for Farmers. Purpose To help agricultural producers & fishermen adjust to foreign import competition. TAA for Farmers. For more information www.TAAforFarmers.org. TAA for Farmers. Reauthorized in American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009

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Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers

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  1. Trade Adjustment Assistance for Farmers

  2. TAA for Farmers Purpose To help agricultural producers & fishermen adjust to foreign import competition

  3. TAA for Farmers For more information www.TAAforFarmers.org

  4. TAA for Farmers • Reauthorized in American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 • TAA for Farmers first authorized in Trade Act of 2002 which amended the Trade Act of 1974 • Trade Act of 1974 created to provide business owners and their employees relief from hardships created by foreign import competition

  5. TAA for Farmers • Traditional TAA provides technical assistance & labor retraining services to non-agricultural businesses and employees • TAA for farmers expanded these benefits to farmers & fishermen that have experienced significant price or production declines as a result of increased imports

  6. TAA for Farmers • USDA Agencies • Foreign Ag Service: lead agency • FSA: accepts applications, makes payments • NIFA: delivers technical assistance • ERS: helps review commodity petitions

  7. Commodity Eligibility • A commodity must first be certified as eligible before producers can apply for benefits • A group of producers or its authorized representative may submit a petition • Usually a commodity organization • By any three unrelated producers of the commodity

  8. Commodity Eligibility • To be eligible for TAA • A commodity must have experienced greater than a 15% decline in the: • national average price or • quantity of production or • value of production or • cash receipts in the most recent marketing year compared to the previous three marketing years; • And imports must have “Contributed Importantly” to this decline

  9. Commodity Eligibility • A commodity may submit a state, regional, or national petition • If a specific state or region files, other states or regions can join the petition if they do so within 15 days, otherwise they must file a separate petition.

  10. Commodity Eligibility • Petitions are submitted to the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) • FAS does an initial screen. If the petition meets basic requirements, the petition is posted in the Federal Register

  11. Commodity Eligibility • FAS has 40 days to determine if the commodity is eligible – clock starts with Federal Register posting of grower’s petition • USDA multi-agency team reviews the price and import information

  12. Producer Applications • If commodity group’s petition is certified, then.. • Individual producers or fishermen have 90 days after certification to apply to local FSA office • Use FSA Form 229-1

  13. Producer Eligibility • To apply for TAA producers must provide documentation that they: • Produced the commodity in the most recent marketing year • Produced the commodity in at least one of the three previous years • The producer’s production quantity or price received decreased (more explanation on next pages)

  14. Producer Eligibility • Applicants must provide documentation that the quantity of the commodity the individual producer produced in the petition marketing year decreased from the most recent prior marketing year for which data is available OR…

  15. Producer Eligibility • The price received for the commodity by the producer during the petition marketing year decreased relative to the average price received by the producer in the three preceding marketing years OR…

  16. Producer Eligibility • The USDA-maintained price for the commodity on the date the petition was filed decreased from the average USDA-maintained price in the three marketing years preceding the date on which the petition was filed.

  17. Producer Eligibility • When applying for TAA producers must also certify that: • Their average gross nonfarm income for the year in which the petition was certified does not exceed $500,000 • Their average taxable adjusted gross farm income (Sch. F net) does not exceed $750,000

  18. TAA Benefits • The focus is on training • Four phases of training • Initial technical assistance • Intensive technical assistance • Initial business plan • Long-term business adjustment plan

  19. TAA Benefits • Phase 1: Initial technical assistance • A two to four hour workshop that provides: • An overview of TAA technical assistance • Commodity outlook • Short discussion on: • Opportunities to improve production • Alternative marketing opportunities • Evaluation of alternative enterprises • Must complete to proceed to next phase

  20. TAA Benefits • Phase 2: Intensive technical assistance • A series of workshops on topics relevant to improving the profitability of the commodity • 7 to 8 workshop topics will be delivered • Participants elect to attend three to four workshops • Must attend a minimum of 12 hours

  21. TAA Benefits • Phase 3: Initial Business Plan • After attending at least 12 hours of workshops, the producer is required to write an Initial Business Plan • The Initial Business Plan must: • Describe the skills gained by the producer from the Intensive Technical Assistance workshops • Describe how the producer will apply those skills to their business

  22. TAA Benefits • Phase 3: Initial Business Plan • An Initial Business Plan template is available • Upon completion and approval of the Initial Business Plan, participants are eligible to receive a maximum of $4,000 to help implement the Initial Business Plan or develop a Long-Term Business Adjustment Plan

  23. TAA Benefits • Phase 4: Long-term business adjustment plan • An individual business planning consultant will be assigned to each participant • Upon completion and approval of the plan participants will be eligible to receive a maximum of $8,000

  24. TAA Benefits • Phase 4: Long-term business adjustment plan must: • Outline the steps the business will take to adjust economically to changing market conditions • Take into consideration the interests of workers employed by the producer • Demonstrate that the producer will have sufficient resources to implement the business plan

  25. TAA Benefits • Phase 4: Long-term business adjustment plan must: • AgPlan will be the template used to develop business plans • www.agplan.umn.edu • There will also be PC and paper versions of AgPlan available

  26. Timelines • A commodity submits a petition • USDA has 40 days to review the petition • Additional states may join petition within first 15 days • From the date of approval certification, producers have 90 days to apply for the program at FSA

  27. Timelines • Phase 1: Initial Technical Assistance must be completed 180 days after certification • All technical assistance must be completed within 36 months of certification • Goal is to complete Phase 2: Intensive Technical Assistance within the first year

  28. Timelines

  29. Educator Roles • National TAA for Farmers Training Coordination Center • Center for Farm Financial Management, University of Minnesota • Four regional Risk Management Education centers

  30. Educator Roles • Four regional risk management education centers • Northeast Center for Risk Management Education • University of Delaware Cooperative Extension • Southern Risk Management Education Center • University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture

  31. Educator Roles • Four regional risk management education centers • North Central Risk Management Education Center • University of Nebraska - Lincoln Extension • Western Center for Risk Management Education • Washington State University Cooperative Extension

  32. Educator Roles • State Contacts • Commodity development teams • Local educators • Business plan consultants

  33. Educator Roles • STATE CONTACTS • Commodity development teams • Local educators • Business plan consultants

  34. State Contacts • Are an important part of the infrastructure that will enable technical assistance to be rapidly delivered when a commodity is certified

  35. State Contacts • Each state will have one or more TAA state contacts • Extension • Sea Grant • Training will be provided to state contacts annually

  36. State Contacts • State contact responsibilities • Will be notified when a commodity submits a TAA petition • Will identify and recruit a commodity development team – PRIMARY ROLE • If petition is certified, will quickly schedule commodity development team training and planning meeting

  37. State Contacts • Commodity development team should include: • Farm management specialist • Marketing specialist • Appropriate production specialists • Commodity organization representative(s) • Someone able to address alternative enterprises • State contact? • Others?

  38. Educator Roles • State Contacts • COMMODITY DEVELOPMENT TEAMS • Local Educators • Business plan consultants

  39. Commodity Teams • Commodity development teams will: • Develop the commodity specific portion of the Initial Technical Assistance curriculum • Determine seven to eight topics for Intensive Technical Assistance

  40. Commodity Teams • Commodity development teams will: • Select 3 to 4 topics from pre-developed national curriculum • Determine 3 to 4 additional commodity specific topics • Develop curriculum for commodity specific topics

  41. Commodity Teams • Commodity development teams will: • Identify educators to deliver Initial and Intensive Technical Assistance workshops • Work with educators to determine dates and locations of workshops

  42. Commodity Teams • Commodity development teams: • May deliver Intensive Technical Assistance workshops • Nationally developed topics • Commodity specific topics • May work with or train local educators to deliver Intensive Technical Assistance

  43. Commodity Teams • Commodity development teams will work with local educators to: • Upload workshop locations and dates to TAAforFarmers.org website • Report all training to the TAA reporting system

  44. Commodity Teams • Will develop a subcontract with the Center for Farm Financial Management • Curriculum development • Delivery of technical assistance • Full reimbursement of costs

  45. Educator Roles • State Contacts • Commodity development teams • LOCAL EDUCATORS • Business plan consultants

  46. Local Educators • Local educators: • Will deliver Initial Technical Assistance • May help deliver Intensive Technical Assistance workshops

  47. Local Educators • Local educators will work with commodity development team to: • Upload workshop locations and dates to TAAforFarmers.org website

  48. Local Educators • Local educators will work with commodity development team to: • Register and record attendance of participants at all training sessions • Report all training to the TAA reporting system

  49. Local Educators • Local educators will: • Help participants complete an Initial Business Plan at the last Intensive Technical Assistance workshop • Submit Initial Business Plans to the regional risk management education center for review

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