Hey Tyler.
I was the one that actually sent the letter on behalf of our association asking for the extension. Their answer is very late, and many guys have had to push ahead already, not knowing if the program would be available or not, but better late than never.
Originally it was designed to only help those who had 50+ hives and had used them in pollination to expand. The program is somewhat modified in that it can now help newer entrants into the field. It was initially a 3 year $450,000 ($150,000/yr) program, with a $25,000 max per individual, so 6 guys could scoop the lot (first come first served).
I don't believe it is going to work quite that way in the future. I believe there was some abuse detected and there have been some safeguards introduced to prevent that (you cannot take government money to expand your colony numbers while also offering bees for sale) Duh! Yet it happened.
The one thing I have yet to figure out is if this is only a 1 year extension, or another 3 year one.
