Agricultural Businesses Affected by COVID-19 Eligible for Loan Program

May 5, 2020

The latest round of funding authorized by Congress through the Paycheck Protection Program and Healthcare Enhancement Act provides funding for agricultural businesses affected by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. 

Agricultural businesses are now eligible for the U.S. Small Business Administration's Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and EIDL Advance programs. The SBA is accepting new loan applications on a limited basis only to provide relief to farmers, ranchers, and certain other agricultural businesses.

Agricultural businesses include businesses engaged in the legal production of food and fiber, ranching, and raising of livestock, aquaculture, and all other farming and agricultural related industries (as defined by section 18(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 647(b)).

Eligible agricultural businesses must have 500 or fewer employees.

At this time, only agricultural business applications will be accepted due to limitations in funding availability and the unprecedented submission of applications already received. Applicants who have already submitted their applications will continue to be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. For agricultural businesses that submitted an EIDL application through the streamlined application portal prior to this recent legislative change, the SBA will process these applications without the need for re-applying.

COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan Application