A government shutdown this month could delay the distribution of $10 billion in economic assistance payments to row crop producers, a top USDA official said Monday.
The continuing resolution that is currently funding the government expires March 14, but congressional leaders disagree on plans for a new continuing resolution needed to keep the government open after that date. Democrats are seeking guarantees that President Donald Trump will adhere to congressionally authorized funding levels.
“We're hopeful that they'll pass a full budget, but in the event that doesn't occur and the government shuts down, that will have… an adverse impact in our ability to deliver that assistance (on time),” Steve Peterson, who is serving as acting deputy undersecretary of USDA for farm production and conservation programs, told soybean growers at Commodity Classic in Denver.
“We're very hopeful Congress will come together and get a budget passed so that we can continue to drive down the lane and provide that service and support the community,” he said.
He told Agri-Pulse that having USDA employees work on the program during a shutdown would violate the Antideficiency Act, which bars agencies from spending money they haven’t been appropriated.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has repeatedly assured farmers that USDA would beat the March 21 deadline that Congress set for delivering the assistance. In December, Congress authorized the $10 billion, plus about $21 billion in disaster aid.
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In a speech at Commodity Classic on Sunday, she said the program would be called the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program and based on 2024 acreage data on file with USDA.
Peterson also told the farmers that the Farm Service Agency has been able to retain all of its probationary employees fired in February. A number of new FSA loan personnel were affected by the firings but were quickly rehired, Peterson told Agri-Pulse.
Most county office personnel are not considered conventional federal employees and were not affected by the firings of probationary employees.
Rollins also announced at the meeting on Sunday that the department was releasing funds for contracts signed by farmers for three conservation programs, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, Conservation Stewardship Program and Agricultural Conservation Easement Program.
The acting chief of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Louis Aspey, told Agri-Pulse funding for climate-smart practices funded through the Inflation Reduction Act remains frozen for any new contracts while the administration assesses what it is going to do with that money.
"The No. 1 priority was to get producers paid that signed up for contracts and ... get those moving," Aspey said.
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