According to a post on X from US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, some of the functions of the USDA’s Farm Service Agency will be restored on Thursday.
Secretary Rollins says “President Trump will not let the radical left Democrat shutdown impact critical USDA services while harvest is underway across the country. Thursday, USDA will resume Farm Service Agency core operations, including critical services for farm loan processing, ARC/PLC payments, and other programs.
“@POTUS is standing up for our farmers while Democrats obstruct. Special thanks to our great USDA employees who continue to work without pay to serve our farmers and ranchers.”
In a separate post- she adds “This Thursday, @USDA will resume Farm Service Agency core operations, including critical services for farm loan processing, ARC/PLC payments, and other programs — over $3Billion in assistance farmers have counted on in their business planning decisions.”
According to the Protocols released by USDA about how the agency will function during the shutdown- FSA was one agency that was mentioned as being one that could be partially reopened-
“Farm Service Agency
Staffing: On day 1-10 of a shutdown, the only FSA staff on call will be minimal regional leadership and headquarters staff, in case of a natural disaster. From day 10 onwards, if the shutdown continues, each FSA service center will be required to have one farm loan employee and/or one county office farm program employee on call to complete certain loan processing items to protect the security interest of the government and to prevent the loss of security or loss of value to security for the borrower.
Loan Actions That Will Continue: From day 10 onwards, staff will be able to continue liens, process protective advances, and review a borrower’s account to gather the necessary information to respond to a bankruptcy notification.”
Rollins is using social media and appearances on multiple cable news channels to push information out during the shutdown- no news releases or media advisories have been posted on the USDA website since September 30th when the Shutdown began.
According to DTN- “The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the White House had released $3 billion in aid funds that had been frozen as a result of the government shutdown. The Wall Street Journal article said the aid money would come out of the Commodity Credit Corp.”
Secretary Rollins Also Promises Help for Beef Cattle Producers
The Secretary has also signaled that announcements about ways to help the beef industry will be coming as early as today.
Blake Burman with The Hill has posted “BREAKING: While President Trump weighs importing beef from Argentina, a big announcement on beef prices is coming tomorrow per @SecRollins.
As for a post on X from Brooke Rollins- “The Trump Administration is focused on revinvigoraring the beef industry. After consecutive years of drought and increased input costs, the American cattle herd is experiencing record low supply, causing higher prices for consumers. Our ranchers, with grit in their bones and the open range in their hearts, tamed the wild frontier, stand today as a testament to the enduring spirit and strength that defines the best of what this nation has to offer. More to do to ensure massive wins for our ranchers and a secure future for our beef producers. Announcements coming.”
Several Senators raised the Argentine Beef issue with President Trump when they were at the White House on Tuesday.
“We had productive discussions about trade, rising input costs and other challenges facing rural communities. We appreciate President Trump and his administration’s commitment to support our producers, including their announcement today that USDA will resume critical FSA services for our farmers and ranchers,” said Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., who chairs the U.S. Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee.
Sens. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., and Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., also each issued statements Tuesday about meeting with Trump, Rollins, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and the U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer.
Among the topics was discouraging the president from increasing beef imports from Argentina.
