By Ryan Hanrahan
Reuters’ Leah Douglas, P.J. Huffstutter and Julie Ingwersen reported that “the U.S. federal government shutdown that began Wednesday will halt some payments to farmers and delay access to federal farm loans, the latest blow for producers already facing low crop prices, record-high debts and a trade war at the height of the fall harvest.”
“The shutdown began at midnight after Republican and Democratic lawmakers could not agree on a plan to fund federal government operations. It will last until one party gets enough votes for its funding plan,” Douglas, Huffstutter and Ingwersen reported. “On Wednesday, the scope of the shutdown’s potential impact to U.S. farmers was beginning to emerge. Even short interruptions in payments could deepen farmers’ economic turmoil. ‘It costs money to run those combines,’ said Chad Hart, agricultural economist with Iowa State University.”
“Plans show the USDA will continue some operations deemed mission-critical, like administration of nutrition programs and food inspections,” Douglas, Huffstutter and Ingwersen reported. “But much of its other work will cease, such as processing of farm loans and making payments to farmers, including billions of dollars in disaster aid contained in President Donald Trump’s tax-cut and spending bill.”
Source : illinois.edu