USDA to reopen field offices for farmers starting Thursday, despite shutdown
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will resume core operations at 2,100 field offices to help farmers access critical aid, but some services will remain unavailable due to the government shutdown.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will resume core operations at 2,100 field offices to help farmers access critical aid, but some services will remain unavailable due to the government shutdown.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will resume core operations at 2,100 field offices to help farmers access critical aid, but some services will remain unavailable due to the government shutdown.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture will partially reopen roughly 2,100 field offices to help farmers access $3 billion in aid from existing programs, despite the ongoing government shutdown.
Starting on Thursday, USDA will resume Farm Service Agency "core operations," including farm loan processing and disaster relief payments. Agriculture Risk Coverage (ARC) and Price Loss Coverage (PLC) payments will also resume, according to an agency spokesperson.
USDA said each office will operate with two county employees, five days a week. Services will be limited for programs not funded through the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), though applications will still be accepted.
Duane Simpson, President and CEO of the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives, said the reopening is welcome news, particularly during harvest season, but it won't solve all of the problems farmers are facing during the shutdown.
"The service isn't going to be what you would want if the government were open, and we certainly would encourage Congress to figure this out and get the government open so that we can get full service," Simpson said.
Other government resources remain paused during the shutdown, including the release of harvest data and the planned rollout of a tariff relief program for struggling farmers.
"We see financial stress throughout the entire ag sector. Relief that the administration can give when the government is open is a part of what's needed," Simpson said.
USDA didn't directly respond to an emailed question on Wednesday regarding potential updates on the timing of the tariff relief program and details remain sparse. In a statement, an unnamed spokesperson said, “President Trump will not let the radical left Democrat shutdown impact critical USDA services while harvest is underway across the country."
Rep. Angie Craig (MN-02), the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee, welcomed the partial opening of FSA offices but added, "I question why the administration waited so long and made this decision only after putting farmers through three weeks of uncertainty."
Craig also said it's time to use the SNAP contingency fund to ensure benefits can be provided for November, amid concerns that funding for food stamps will run dry if the government shutdown continues into next month.
Asked whether USDA is crafting plans to prevent a lapse in SNAP benefits on Wednesday, a spokesperson said Senate Democrats are "approaching an inflection point" and called on holdouts to reopen the government.
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