$600 Stimulus Payment

One-Time Stimulus Payment for Farm and Meat-Processing Workers

Pasa Sustainable Agriculture, in collaboration with the Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) is offering a one-time $600 stimulus payment to front-line agricultural workers and meat-packing workers.

Both adults and youth under the age of 18 qualify. Following are some of the guidelines:

  • Individuals must have worked as a front-line farm worker or meat-processing worker for at least 1 hour between January 2020 and April 11, 2023.
  • Farm owners, who have their name listed on the deed of a farm as the owner, do not qualify unless they completed front-line farm or meat-processing work for another agricultural entity. (In other words, you can’t get the payment for working for your own farming business).
  • Business owners do not qualify for work done for their own business. However, if they did front-line work for a farm or agricultural or meat-processing business that did not provide financial gain to their own business, they may qualify for those activities in some instances.
  • Farm managers and business managers also do not qualify unless they sometimes worked in the position of a front-line worker. (The fund seeks to reward the workers rather than management, and they go by job title).
  • Service providers do not qualify for work done as an agricultural or meat-processing service. Rather, individuals must be directly involved with actual front-line work. (For example: A business that provides logistics to distribute produce is a service. The worker that sorts, cleans and packs the produce at the farm to go onto the truck that picks up for the logistics business is a front-line worker, if that individual does not own the farm business.)
  • See below for the definition of a front-line worker.
An older teen picking strawberries from a large garden plot.

Definition of a Front-line Worker

Hired workers are defined as anyone, other than an agricultural service worker, who was paid for at least one hour of agricultural work on a farm or ranch, or in a meat processing facility. Worker type is determined by what the employee was primarily hired to do, not necessarily what work was done during the pandemic. Eligible frontline workers include:

Field workers: Includes planting, tending, and harvesting crops, as well as eligible post-harvest activities. Also includes operating farm machinery on crop farms. A list of qualifying crops for field activities can be found here.

Livestock workers: Includes tending livestock, milking cows, or caring for poultry. Also includes operating farm machinery on livestock or poultry operations.

Meatpacking workers: Includes animal slaughtering and meat or poultry processing, as well as packaging meat or poultry.

Specific Worker Type by SOC Code

To further clarify. These are eligible front-line workers:

Type of worker – SOC code –  Associated titles  

  • Field Workers – 45-2041 – Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products  
  • Field Workers – 45-2091 – Agricultural Equipment Operators  
  • Field Workers – 45-2092 – Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery and Greenhouse  
  • Field Workers – 45-2099 – Agricultural Workers, All Other  
  • Field Workers – 53-7064 – Packers and Packagers, Hand
  • Livestock Workers – 45-2041 – Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products
  • Livestock Workers – 45-2093 – Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals
  • Livestock Workers – 45-2099 – Agricultural Workers, All Other 
  • Livestock Workers – 53-7064 – Packers and Packagers, Hand 
  • Meatpacking Workers – 51-3023 – Slaughterers and Meat Packers 
  • Meatpacking Workers – 51-3022 – Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers 
  • Meatpacking Workers – 51-3099 – Food Processing Workers, All Other
Help Workers Because They Incurred Costs

The payment is part of the “Farm and Food Workers” Program, which awarded $667 million dollars to fourteen non-profit organizations and one tribal entity through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.  The purpose of the program is to help front-line workers offset some of the extra costs that they may have incurred during Covid 19. Workers, who were employed on the front-lines during Covid, often paid for things to prevent getting and spreading the virus, in addition to preparing for, and responding to, the Pandemic. 

Woman wearing a mask holding a seedling plant

Often, workers did not track costs such as additional laundry expenses, masks, time lost caring for children that had to stay home, sanitizers, and things such as the extra time it took to prepare for work and the clean up after work. The fund recognizes this, and seeks to ease the burden that front-line agricultural and meat-processing workers have had to endure to sustain the nation. Therefore, the stimulus amount is a flat fee of $600, regardless of how much extra a particular worker spent (or lost) to do their job because of the Pandemic. Applicants are not required to provide receipts. 

To Apply

To apply, individuals will need a photo ID and proof of employment as an eligible worker. Proof of employment can be a W2, paystub, employment contract, letter from the employer, or H2A or H2B Visa.

Go Here to Apply

For information see the announcement in the Washington Examiner.