Oregon growers have until Oct. 25 to apply for reimbursement for any extra costs they incurred while complying with the state’s coronavirus prevention mandates.
That doesn’t mean they have to have all their expenses by then; they may submit receipts until Nov. 16. Only the application is due on Oct. 25.
In the spring, the state of Oregon set aside $30 million of federal coronavirus aid to help secure the food supply chain and protect farmworkers from COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Of that, $15 million was designated for the Food Security and Farmworker Safety program, which reimburses farmers for the costs of required temporary modifications to their housing, transportation and field operations, such as adding portable toilets to orchards and renting trailer homes for extra housing.
The Oregon Department of Agriculture contracted with the state’s Water Enhancement Board to administrate the funding.
To apply, call 503-986-0058 or visit www.oregon.gov/oweb/fsfs/.
—by Ross Courtney
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