🌾 Hey fam, US farmers just got hit by a one-two punch: a government shutdown and tough tariffs. The shutdown, which kicked off Wednesday, froze key USDA services—like farm loans and disaster aid—just when farmers need them the most. 🚜
Under the emergency plan, almost half of the USDA’s 85,000+ staff are now furloughed (aka put on unpaid leave). That means new loan applications and billions in relief payments are on hold, leaving growers in limbo. 💸
Take Tim Wells, an Arkansas sheep farmer. He planned to apply for disaster relief this month after extreme weather—but now his application is stuck in limbo. “The way the farm economy’s been, nobody needs to wait,” he told Reuters. 😰
This crunch comes during one of the toughest autumns in years. International buyers are eyeing other suppliers thanks to trade disruption, and a record corn harvest is set to push prices even lower. Meanwhile, seeds, fertilizers and other inputs keep getting pricier. 📉
Gary Wertish, president of the Minnesota Farmers Union, summed it up: “Shutdown plus tariffs—it’s a two-punch situation.” His group has already seen more mediation requests (a process lenders must offer before foreclosure) in the first two-thirds of 2025 than in all of 2023 and 2024 combined. 🔥
With harvest season in full swing, US farmers are bracing for a rough winter. For many, this feels like watching your bank app glitch at the worst possible time—a pain any of us who’ve waited on a stalled mobile loan app can relate to. 📱❌
Reference(s):
US agriculture takes a double punch from shutdown and tariffs
cgtn.com
