USDA to Resume Farmer Aid Distribution Frozen by Government Shutdown

Secretary Brooke Rollins says the administration will resume farm loan processing and federal assistance programs paused during the government shutdown.

Ken Haas, a third generation farmer, rakes recently cut hay so it will dry before it is bailed, in Elizabeth, Ill., on Aug. 11, 2024. Scott Olson/Getty Images

Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said on Oct. 21 that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will resume distributing aid for farmers frozen by the government shutdown.

In a statement on X, Rollins said the USDA will resume operations at the Farm Service Agency (FSA) on Oct. 23, which includes processing farm loans and managing federal aid programs for farmers across the country.

“President Trump will not let the radical left Democrat shutdown impact critical USDA services while harvest is underway across the country,” the agriculture secretary said.

Rollins said in a subsequent post that financial aid for farmers totals more than $3 billion.

In an interview with Fox News that aired Oct. 21, Rollins said President Donald Trump has directed the USDA to reopen FSA offices nationwide to allow farmers to access and cash their aid payments.

The secretary also revealed that the Trump administration was preparing an aid package for farmers affected by China’s refusal to buy soybeans from the United States amid trade negotiations.

“Frankly, if the shutdown hadn’t happened a couple of weeks ago, thanks to the Democrats again, that package would likely have already been announced,” Rollins told the media outlet.

“But we are preparing it every day that goes by. The market changes a little bit, [but] there are some potential big moves coming in from around the world, from other markets.”

China, the world’s largest soybean importer, purchased more than $12.64 billion worth of soybeans from the United States last year, according to the USDA data.

The country is now turning to suppliers from South America as negotiations over tariffs with the United States remain ongoing, resulting in billions of dollars in lost sales for American farmers.

Trump stated on Oct. 1 that soybeans would be a “major topic of discussion” during an expected meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in South Korea later this month.

“The Soybean Farmers of our Country are being hurt because China is, for ‘negotiating’ reasons only, not buying,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

The president also suggested that his administration would use revenues collected from tariffs to provide assistance to American farmers affected by China’s move.

“We’ve made so much money on tariffs, that we are going to take a small portion of that money, and help our farmers,” he said. “It’s all going to work out very well.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Oct. 2 that since every recent U.S. trade deal has included investments in American farm products, “we’re going to see other countries substitute for China.”

Jacob Burg contributed to this report.