Rural Members Revolt Forcing Return of USDA Funding

WASHINGTON, DC – Last week, as the House of Representatives was preparing to pass a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the government through October, members from farming regions – on both sides of the aisle – were up in arms over a plan to exclude funding for USDA through the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). The move, attributed to the Senate’s Ranking Member of the Agriculture Committee Debbie Stabenow (MI), appeared to be in retaliation for “the Trump Administration’s trade payments (picking) winners and losers and (leaving) small farms behind.” Stabenow has accused USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) of awarding Market Facilitation Program (MFP) payments unequally, especially to farms in the South.

A recent GAO report found that the national average payment per operation was $22,312 but varied from a low of $44 to a high of more than $295,000, and a number of counties had average payments of $50,000 per operation or more. The same report, however, found that even though some of the highest per farm rates were in the South for farmers of cotton and sorghum, the top five states – with the exception of Texas – were in the Midwest. Iowa collected the most at $1.6 billion, Illinois was second with $1.5 billion, and Texas third with $1.1 billion. Rounding out the top ten states were Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, Indiana, North Dakota, Missouri, and South Dakota.

Since the CCC provides funding for critical USDA operations, including farm safety net programs, conservation, and foreign market development, House leadership returned the appropriations in the CR and the House passed the measure. The Senate must pass the CR before midnight Wednesday to avoid a government shutdown.
(SOURCE: All Ag News)