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Local Farm Service Agency Offices Reopen To Process Some Payments, Tax Documents For Farmers

Wisconsin Farm Leaders Say Federal Government Shutdown Continues To Impact Farmers

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Farm silos overhead store corn on a rainy day
Grain storage units rise overhead at Knollman Farm, Friday, Oct. 30, 2015, in Hamilton, Ohio. Excellent rains and temperature conditions throughout the growing season contributed to bumper crops in parts of southern Ohio. John Minchillo/AP Photo

Despite the continued federal government shutdown, some Farm Service Agency offices in Wisconsin are open this week.

Twelve FSA offices in the state reopened on Thursday. Employees are processing payments, renewing financing statements that are expiring and providing tax documents to farmers. The offices will also be open on Friday, Jan. 18 and Tuesday, Jan. 22.

FSA provides many programs that directly assist farmers, like crop insurance and co-signing operating loans.

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Darin Von Ruden, president of the Wisconsin Farmers Union, worries unfinished business with the agency could keep some farmers from accessing loans for the upcoming growing season.

“If farmers are not able to pay off their loans in a timely manner over the next month or so and then go back to their creditors to look for some more financing for this spring’s crop needs and they still have that debt hanging over them, the bankers or the creditors certainly would take a look at that process,” Von Ruden said.

FSA employees aren’t processing new applications for loans or other programs until the shutdown ends. That includes the Market Facilitation program, a payment program started last year to offset the impacts of retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agricultural products.

Wisconsin Farm Bureau President Jim Holte said the shutdown has been challenging for farmers on top of several years of low commodity prices. But Holte said the industry has mixed opinions about the shutdown itself.

“Farmers have the same range of opinions as do others not in farming. So there are some who are frustrated to a great extent by it and others feel that it’s an appropriate way to move forward to secure the border,” Holte said.

As the shutdown drags on, Von Ruden said he’s worried about the absence of market data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He said producers use supply and price reports to make weekly or even daily decisions on their farms.

“If we continue down the long term, it’s going to affect market signals and where farmers are looking for information,” Von Ruden said.