Oklahoma farmers and ranchers may now benefit from a second round of Paycheck Protection Program loans with new improvements for agriculture producers.
Approved by Congress in its recent COVID-19 relief package, the expanded PPP will provide $284 billion in funding for a second round of loans through March 31, 2021.
American Farm Bureau pushed Congress for a number of improvements to the program to benefit farmers and ranchers including new qualifying expenses, using gross farm income to determine loan amounts and reducing the level of required losses to qualify. Read more details about the expanded program in an AFBF Market Intel report here.
The PPP was created by the CARES Act in March 2020 and provides forgivable loans to small businesses to assist in keeping employees paid.
The loan application deadline for the second round of PPP loans is March 31, 2021, or until funds are exhausted. Businesses with no more than 300 employees that received loans last year are eligible for this second round of PPP loans, but at a reduced loan cap of $2 million. Interested producers can visit the SBA website to begin preparing their application.
