Soybean harvest on the Anderson farm near Mansfield, IL on Saturday, September 30, 2023. photo by Darrell Hoemann, Investigate Midwest

In 2020, the agricultural sector received about $45 billion โ€” the most ever โ€” in federal assistance. More than half of that came in the form of direct pandemic aid from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, according to federal data.ย 

But a significant amount came from a non-USDA source: the Paycheck Protection Program. The payments were implemented to help businesses keep afloat while parts of society shut down.ย 

Loans from the program were forgiven if at least 60% was spent on payroll expenses. Nearly all PPP loans to the farm sector have been forgiven, according to the USDA.

Californiaโ€™s farmers received the most money in PPP loans, according to the data.

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Signal: im_sky.31 Protonmail: im_sky31@proton.me Hush Line: https://tips.hushline.app/to/im_sky31 Sky Chadde has covered the agriculture industry for Investigate Midwest since 2019 and spent much...

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