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Shutdown stalls USDA reports and farm program signups

An economist says the government shutdown impacts farmers in different ways. 

Leonard Polzin with the University of Wisconsin tells Brownfield that as the shutdown continues, reports will not be coming out on time, affecting marketing and management decisions.  His other concern is when enrollment periods for USDA programs will open through NRCS and FSA. “Think of the Dairy Margin Coverage program. You know, historically, there was at least, depending on the farm bill cycle that we’re in, historically that kind of happened in this time of year so that October-November period is when we would see the announcement of enrollment dates.”

Polzin says without a farm bill and without a functioning government, many farmers are delaying decisions while awaiting data.

When the government does reopen, Polzin says farmers should not expect services to be back to normal on day one. “That backlog of things will continue and you know, there’s going to have to be a period of catch-up with them as well.”

Polzin says the timing of the government shutdown is probably less impactful to farmers in the fall since they don’t have to make planting decisions yet.  He says a prolonged shutdown could hurt food assistance efforts if funding reserves run out for programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), and that would have a trickle-down effect on farmers since products would not be moving to those consumers.

AUDIO: Leonard Polzin discusses the government shutdown with Brownfield’s Larry Lee.