COVID-19 Resources

As the resiliency of our society, economy and industry is tested, the Irrigation Association’s staff and leadership have been working behind the scenes, both advocating on behalf of agricultural and turf-landscape irrigation, as well as keeping our members informed about the federal, state and local decisions being made that affect the livelihood of everyone in our industry. Click here to view the IA’s response regarding COVID-19.
     We have created this page to be your go-to site for most up-to-date resources on the COVID-19 global health crisis and its effect on our industry. Please continue to check this site as we will update and monitor the page to provide our industry and members with the most current information and guidance.

Quick Links | Business Resources  | State Resources | Federal Resources | Advocacy Letters

Business Resources

• Resources for ag irrigation dealers

Main Street Lending Program (April 16)

The Federal Reserve has announced that it is establishing a Main Street Lending Program to support lending to small and medium-sized businesses that were in good financial standing before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
     This program is designed to help banks give money more freely to businesses in need of a loan by purchasing a large portion of the loan from the bank, freeing them of most of the risk.
     More specifically, once your company gets its loan, the Federal Reserve will buy up 95% of the loan from the bank, leaving just 5% with the bank that originated the loan. The term of these loans is four years, and amounts generally range between $1 million and $25 million. These loans cannot be used to pay off any other existing debt the borrower has.
     The Federal Reserve will be purchasing up to $600 billion in loans.

Eligibility: The program is available to any businesses with fewer than 10,000 employees or with revenues of less than $2.5 billion.
 

Paycheck Protection Program

The Irrigation Association has been made aware that the Paycheck Protection Program is out of funds. We are increasing our advocacy efforts to call on Congress to appropriate more money to this critical program. (April 16)

• IA member resource (April 3)
• Treasury overview (April 3)
• Fact sheet (April 3)
• Application (April 3)

State Resources

The Irrigation Association is closely following how each state is responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency. For up-to-date information on what the IA is seeing, please join our official LinkedIn COVID-19 resources page.

• U.S. Chamber of Commerce State-by-State Business Reopening Guidance
• State employer resources
• County declarations and policies regarding COVID-19
• Nursery and Landscape Association Executives map of North America resources and announcements affecting the green industry — updated regularly

Federal Resources

• New CDC guidelines for travel in the United States (May 1)
• IRS Guidance on deductible expenses pursuant to the Paycheck Protection Program (May 1)
• Updated EPA Guidance for Cleaning and Disinfecting Public Spaces, Workplaces, Businesses, Schools and Homes (April 29)
• Updated OSHA Enforcement Guidance for Recording Cases of COVID-19 (April 10)
• Dept. of Labor New Paid Sick Leave and Expanded Family and Medical Leave Implementation (April 1)
• IRS Employee Retention Credit for Business Affected by COVID-19 (March 31)
• Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Administration Guidance on Critical Infrastructure (March 28)
• CDC Resources for Businesses and Employers
• OSHA Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19
• U.S. Small Business Administration: Small Business Guidance and Loan Resources
• Manufacturer survey to help meet the demands of component manufacturing in the U.S.
• Employer Paid Leave Requirements

Congressional Actions

• U.S. Senate Small Business Owner’s Guide to the CARES Act (March 31)
• U.S. congressional actions regarding COVID-19 response

Advocacy

• Irrigation Association framework for economic recovery | version 1

Letters

• Representatives Murphy and Katko | Jumpstarting Our Businesses’ Success Credit (JOBS Credit) Act of 2020 (H.R. 6776) (June 15)
• Speaker Pelosi and Leaders McConnell, Schumer and McCarthy | urging Congress to quickly authorize more money for the Paycheck Protection Program (April 15)
• Secretary Perdue | supporting the nursery and floriculture sector (April 10)
• DHS/CISA Director Krebs | advocating for irrigation services to be defined as essential services (March 26)
• Governor Whitmer | advocating for irrigation services to be defined as essential services in Michigan (March 24)
• Governor DeWine | advocating for irrigation services to be defined as essential services in Ohio (March 24)
• Governor Newsom | advocating for landscape irrigation technologies and services in California (March 20)
• White House | supporting programs that increase cash flow for businesses affected by COVID-19 (March 18)
• Federal, State and Local Elected Officials | advocating that landscape services should be defined as essential services (March 18)
• To Whom It May Concern | advocating for landscape irrigation during the COVID-19 pandemic (March 18)