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Post date: March 27, 2020 3:28 PM
National months in April
National months in April
This school year has certainly taken a turn for the worst due to the coronavirus or COVID-19 but we can make each day better. April is "National Gardening Month" which is the perfect time to get out of the house. You can plant you favorite summer veggies or flowering plants to help spruce up your yard. Here is a great resourse for what items to plant during this season:
Central North Carolina Planting Calendar for Annual Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs
NC Vegetable Planting Guide
April is also the "National Month of Hope". We think this is so fitting with all that is going on. Everyone be safe, wash you hands, utilize this time to connect with family and be hopeful for whats to come. Below you will find some resources of some awesome family outdoor activities you could try at home or in your neighborhood.
Outdoor Classroom Day- Lesson Ideas
100 Outdoor Activites to do before your kids turn 10 (but is great for many ages)
Ag Daily Article highlight
Ag Daily Article highlight
Coronavirus aid package critical for farmers & rural hospitals
Coronavirus aid package critical for farmers & rural hospitals
By AGDAILY Reporters Published: March 26, 2020
To alleviate the current and potential economic fallout from the global COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. lawmakers are poised to pass a response, relief, and stimulus aid package with a nearly $2 trillion price tag.
The bill, which is the most expensive in the country’s history, provides $130 billion for hospitals, $150 billion for local and state governments, direct payments to individuals, and $300 billion in financial aid for small businesses. Several provisions are of particular interest to National Farmers Union and the agriculture industry:
Rural Health
- $185 million to support rural critical access hospitals, rural tribal health and telehealth programs, and poison control centers.
- $25 million to improve access to distance learning and telemedicine through U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development.
Agricultural Assistance
- $14 billion to replenish the Commodity Credit Corporation, which is used to stabilize, support, and protect farm income and prices through initiatives like the Market Facilitation Program.
- $9.5 billion to help specialty crop growers, farmers who support local food systems, dairy farmers, and livestock producers.
- A temporary three-month extension on repayment of commodity marketing assistance loans, from nine months to a year.
Rural Businesses and Communities
- The availability of Economic Injury Disaster Loans to cooperatives with fewer than 500 employees.
- $100 million to improve access to rural broadband through the ReConnect program.
- $20.5 million to support an additional $1 billion of lending through USDA’s Rural Development Business and Industry Loan Guarantee program.
Nutrition Assistance
- $15.5 billion in additional funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to assist more participants. This will not increase benefit levels for individuals.
- $8.8 billion in additional funding for Child Nutrition Programs.
- $450 million for the Emergency Food Assistance Program.
NFU President Rob Larew said, “By providing much-needed support for rural health care and family farm agriculture, the stimulus bill would address many of our most urgent concerns. In the coming weeks, we will learn more about the additional needs of our rural health care system, farmers, and rural communities, and we urge Congress to be ready to address them.”
American Farm Bureau President Zippy Duvall said, “We urge swift passage and will continue working with Congress and the Administration to ensure there are sufficient resources to assist farmers, ranchers, rural communities and those in need in these very trying times.”
https://www.agdaily.com/news/coronavirus-aid-package-farmers/
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