USDA is reopening nearly 2,100 offices to help deliver $3 billion in aid to farmers despite the ongoing shutdown

The Agriculture Department will reopen about 2,100 county offices across the country on Thursday despite the ongoing government shutdown to help farmers and ranchers access $3 billion in aid from existing programs.

USDA Said that each Farm Service Agency office will have two employees who will be paid by the government despite the closure. These offices help farmers apply for farm loans, crop insurance, disaster assistance, and other programs. Thousands of other federal employees, such as air traffic controllers, are working without pay during the shutdown.

A USDA spokesperson said the move reflects the President’s trumpA commitment to helping farmers and ranchers, who have traditionally been some of their strongest supporters. Recently, some of them are unhappy with Trump’s latest moves, although his support remains strong across rural America.

This week, cattlemen were unhappy with Trump’s idea to import more beef argentina Because it could hurt their profits, and earlier this month soybean farmers complained that a $20 billion aid package for Argentina allowed that country to sell soybeans to China. Farmers are still awaiting details of an aid package that Trump promised to help them survive his trade war with China, but that aid has been put on hold because of the shutdown.

“President Trump will not let the radical left Democrat shutdown impact vital USDA services while harvests are underway across the country,” a USDA spokesperson said. A white House The official said the administration is using funds from the Commodity Credit Corporation, a USDA agency that addresses farm prices.

Republicans like Iowa Sen. chuck grassleyNorth Dakota Senator John Hoeven and farm groups such as the National Corn Growers Association and the Illinois Soybean Association applauded the move, while Democrats accused the administration of using farmers as political pawns in the fight over the shutdown. The two parties have been unable to reach an agreement to fund the government and end the shutdown that began on October 1.

“Since the agricultural country is in the middle of the harvest season, producers cannot afford delays in these programs,” Hoeven said. “They are essential to helping producers maintain their operations, especially when facing challenging markets.”

Kenneth Hartman Jr., who is president of the Corn Growers Association, said this is a critical time because farmers are just getting ready to place orders for next year’s seed and fertilizer as well as negotiating settlements with bankers for this year’s operating loans. And farmers are struggling with rising costs.

“Because of the inflation factor, the farm economy is in a really dire situation here. So when it comes to support for farm programs from last year’s farm bill, whatever farmers can get, we need to unlock that money and get that money out to them,” said Hartman, who is in the middle of harvesting his crop near Waterloo, Illinois.

House Agriculture Committee Democrats said on the issue that it shows Trump and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins “could have always supported farmers, but you didn’t because you would use farmers’ pain to score cheap political points, while increasing the cost of living for ordinary Americans by making food and health care more expensive.”

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Associated Press writer Seung Min Kim contributed to this story from Washington.