With farmers locked out of USDA offices because of the partial government shutdown, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced on Tuesday that he was extending the January 15 deadline to sign up for $9.6 billion in Trump tariff payments. The extension will “equal to the number of business days FSA (Farm Service Agency) offices were closed, once the government shutdown ends,” said Perdue. The local offices closed on December 28.
“Farmers who have already applied for the program and certified their 2018 production have continued to receive payments,” said Perdue in a statement. Farmers have until May 1 to certify their production of almonds, corn, cotton, dairy, hog, sorghum, soybeans, fresh sweet cherries and wheat, the commodities eligible for the payments to mitigate the impact of the trade war on U.S. agriculture.
Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley thanked Perdue for “this very reasonable accommodation.” Earlier on Tuesday, Grassley told reporters “we’ve been getting a lot of calls” from farmers about the situation. The deadline to enroll in the Market Facilitation Program, the formal name for the trade war payments, was one of the few points where the shutdown affected farmers.
“Closed FSA offices, delayed economic reports, & delayed farm bill implementation have have added uncertainty to already uncertain agricultural markets,” said the National Farmers Union on social media. “We appreciate the USDA making this important decision, but ultimately farmers need the government to reopen as soon as possible.”