USDA is reopening some 2,100 offices to help farmers access $3B in aid despite the ongoing shutdown

The Agriculture Department will reopen about county offices all across the country Thursday despite the ongoing ruling body shutdown to help farmers and ranchers get access to billion of aid from existing programs The USDA commented each Farm Facility Agency office will have two workers who will be paid even though the leadership remains shutdown These offices help farmers apply for farm loans crop insurance mishap aid and other programs Thousands of other federal employees like air traffic controllers are working without pay during the shutdown A USDA spokesperson revealed this move reflects President Trump s commitment to helping farmers and ranchers who are traditionally particular of his strongest supporters Lately particular of them have been unhappy with Trump s latest moves although his sponsorship remains strong across rural America Just this week ranchers were unhappy with Trump s idea to import more beef from Argentina because that could hurt their profits and earlier this month soybean farmers complained that a billion aid package for Argentina allowed that country to sell soybeans to China Farmers are also still waiting on details of an aid package Trump promised to help them survive his transaction 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 critical USDA services while harvest is underway across the country the USDA spokesman reported A White House official revealed the administration is using funds from the Commodity Credit Corporation a USDA agency that addresses agricultural prices Republicans like Senate Majority Leader John Thune Iowa Sen Chuck Grassley and North Dakota Sen John Hoeven along with farm groups like the National Corn Growers Association and Illinois Soybean Association praised the move while Democrats accused the administration of using farmers as political pawns in the shutdown fight Both parties have been unable to reach an agreement to fund the cabinet and end the shutdown that began Oct Thune noted reopening these offices like he has been urging the administration to do will give farmers access to critical services in the midst of harvest season Like countless hardworking Americans producers in South Dakota and across the country who work tirelessly to provide high-quality food for our nation are being hurt by Senate Democrats reckless authorities shutdown Thune announced Kenneth Hartman Jr who is chairman of the Corn Growers Association revealed this is a crucial time because farmers are getting ready to place orders for next year s seed and fertilizer right now as well as settling up with the bankers for this year s operating loans And farmers are grappling with soaring costs Because of the inflation factor the farm economic system is really in a critical situation here So anything that the farmers can get when it comes to help from the farm programs from the farm bill of last year we need to get that open and get that money out to them announced Hartman who is in the middle of harvesting his crop near Waterloo Illinois The House Agriculture Committee Democrats announced on X that this shows that Trump and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins could have supported farmers all along but you chose not to because you d rather use farmers pain to count cheap political points while increasing the cost of living for ordinary Americans by making food and fitness care more expensive Minnesota Rep Angie Craig who is the ranking Democrat on the Agriculture Committee revealed the administration should have done this sooner to ensure that farmers can get the help they need I am glad the administration is eventually doing right by America s farmers by partially opening FSA offices though I question why the administration waited so long and made this decision only after putting farmers through three weeks of uncertainty Craig reported Associated Press writer Seung Min Kim contributed to this story from Washington Source