USDA is reopening some 2,100 offices to help farmers access $3B in aid
despite the ongoing shutdown
[October 23, 2025] By
JOSH FUNK
The Agriculture Department will reopen about 2,100 county offices all
across the country Thursday despite the ongoing government shutdown to
help farmers and ranchers get access to $3 billion of aid from existing
programs.
The USDA said each Farm Service Agency office will have two workers who
will be paid even though the government remains shutdown. These offices
help farmers apply for farm loans, crop insurance, disaster aid and
other programs. Thousands of other federal employees like air traffic
controllers are working without pay during the shutdown.
A USDA spokesperson said this move reflects President Trump's commitment
to helping farmers and ranchers, who are traditionally some of his
strongest supporters. Recently, some of them have been unhappy with
Trump's latest moves although his support remains strong across rural
America.
Just this week, ranchers were unhappy with Trump's idea to import more
beef from Argentina because that could hurt their profits, and earlier
this month soybean farmers complained that a $20 billion aid package for
Argentina allowed that country to sell soybeans to China. Farmers are
also still waiting on details of an aid package Trump promised to help
them survive his trade war with China, but that aid has been put on hold
because of the shutdown.
“President Trump will not let the radical left Democrat shutdown impact
critical USDA services while harvest is underway across the country,”
the USDA spokesman said.
A White House official said the administration is using funds from the
Commodity Credit Corporation, a USDA agency that addresses agricultural
prices. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the
administration’s plans were not yet publicized.
Republicans like Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Iowa Sen. Chuck
Grassley and North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven along with farm groups like
the National Corn Growers Association and Illinois Soybean Association
praised the move while Democrats accused the administration of using
farmers as political pawns in the shutdown fight. Both parties have been
unable to reach an agreement to fund the government and end the shutdown
that began Oct. 1.
Thune said reopening these offices, like he has been urging the
administration to do, will give farmers access to critical services in
the midst of harvest season.
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A corn field is seen in Mill Hill, Pa., on Aug. 29, 2023. (AP
Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)
 “Like many hardworking Americans,
producers in South Dakota and across the country – who work
tirelessly to provide high-quality food for our nation – are being
hurt by Senate Democrats’ reckless government shutdown,” Thune said.
Kenneth Hartman Jr., who is chairman of the Corn
Growers Association, said this is a crucial time because farmers are
getting ready to place orders for next year's seed and fertilizer
right now as well as settling up with the bankers for this year's
operating loans. And farmers are grappling with soaring costs.
“Because of the inflation factor, the farm economy is really in a
critical situation here. So anything that the farmers can get when
it comes to support from the farm programs from the farm bill of
last year, we need to get that open and get that money out to them,”
said Hartman, who is in the middle of harvesting his crop near
Waterloo, Illinois.
The House Agriculture Committee Democrats said on X that this shows
that Trump and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins “could have
supported farmers all along, but you chose not to because you’d
rather use farmers’ pain to score cheap political points while
increasing the cost of living for ordinary Americans by making food
and health care more expensive.”
Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig, who is the ranking Democrat on the
Agriculture Committee, said the administration should have done this
sooner to ensure that farmers can get the help they need.
“I am glad the administration is finally doing right by America’s
farmers by partially opening FSA offices, though I question why the
administration waited so long and made this decision only after
putting farmers through three weeks of uncertainty," Craig said.
___
Associated Press writer Seung Min Kim contributed to this story from
Washington.
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