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Farmers bear impact as shutdown continues
Most farmers feel some impact from the government shutdown, now in its
second month. There is a widespread effect because of spotty USDA information that
normally drives market transactions, according to Kevin Ross, a farmer from
southwest Iowa.
“All the farmers are somewhat impacted by the current situation with numbers not
coming out of the USDA, and Chicago not being able to trade based on some of
that,” Ross told Brownfield Ag News.
Farm Service Agency offices opened for three days, but only to help with urgent
business like tax filings and servicing existing loans.
Ross says that didn’t help producers who planned to sign up for the Market
Facilitation Program.
“Luckily they extended those deadlines,” said Ross, “but certainly there’s guys
that aren’t getting signed up and therefore aren’t getting the payment that was
associated with that.”
Ross, the first vice-president of the National Corn Growers Association, talked
to Brownfield at the Soil Health Summit in St. Louis.
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