The congressional budget fight could result in some significant cuts to programs at USDA and elsewhere in the government, based on an analysis released by the Congressional Budget Office. CBO assessed the impact the Fiscal Responsibility Act could have on government funding for fiscal 2024. The FRA sets caps on FY24 spending and triggers automatic cuts if lawmakers don’t enact appropriations bills by April.
Bottom line: If spending were left at the levels in the continuing resolution that’s now funding the government, “sequestration would be required and would result in across-the-board reductions ranging from 5 percent to 9 percent for nondefense funding and from zero to 1 percent for defense funding,” CBO says.
Since departments and agencies have been operating at higher spending levels for much of the fiscal year, cuts could be concentrated in the remaining months, CBO says. The fiscal year ends Sept. 30.
CBO notes that the Office of Management and Budget would have the final say in how the cuts are carried out.
The response: The top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, Pennsylvania Rep. Brendan Boyle, says the cuts would be “devastating” and would put “American families on the chopping block.” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Wednesday that Republicans are working in good faith to reach agreement on full-year appropriations bills.
AFBF: No position on nutrition cuts
The president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, Zippy Duvall, says the group isn’t taking a stand on a GOP proposal to cut money from the farm bill nutrition title to fund other programs. “Our interest is in the agricultural part of farm bill, and we're not really going to take a position” on the nutrition issue, Duvall says on this week’s edition of Agri-Pulse Newsmakers.
“We know that they have the data and information on what they can and can't do in that area,” Duvall said of lawmakers. Republicans in the House and Senate say they could save $30 billion by imposing restrictions on future adjustments to SNAP benefits.
Newsmakers will be available today at Agri-Pulse.com.
RMA looks to educate smaller farms on risk management, conservation
USDA’s Risk Management Agency is dedicating $3 million to educate underserved, small-scale and organic agricultural producers on risk management and climate-smart farming practices.
The Risk Management Education investment builds on the $13 million that RMA has already provided through partnerships since 2021. Past funding has gone to universities, county cooperative extension offices and other nonprofit organizations to develop educational tools.
RMA Administrator Marcia Bunger says, “As a farmer, I know first-hand that agriculture is a risky business. We want to work with growers and livestock producers to provide them training and resources about risk management options and how to apply them to their farming businesses.”
Dry conditions putting a strain on producers in Texas, banker survey finds
Unusually dry conditions are stressing producers in Texas, northern Louisiana and southern New Mexico, bankers in the Federal Reserve 11th District say in a new survey.
Low yields have caused farmers to use crop insurance to repay loans, the bankers said.
“Demand for agricultural loans decreased in the fourth quarter for the eighth straight quarter,” a summary of the survey says. “Loan renewals or extensions picked back up after falling in the previous quarter. The rate of loan repayment declined at the fastest pace since 2019. Except for operating loans, loan volume was down for all remaining categories compared with a year ago.”
Keep in mind: Dryness also continues in the North Central region of the country, USDA’s Midwest Climate Hub says in its latest Climate Outlook. “Warm and dry has been the theme over the last month” across most of the region, the outlook says. There have been a few exceptions, such as when a Christmas system brought “multiple inches of precipitation” in some areas.
“The region saw both 1- to 2-class improvements and degradations in drought status, and concerns are starting to weigh heavily on whether or not soil moisture will be recharged this winter,” the outlook said.
The North Central states include the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana and Ohio.
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California only holdout to not approve E15
California is the only state that doesn’t allow sales of E15 after the 15% ethanol blend became legal this week in Montana.
“Now it’s time for the last holdout – California – to step forward and join the rest of the country in allowing consumers to access the more affordable, cleaner-burning E15 fuel option,” says Renewable Fuels Association President and CEO Geoff Cooper.
In a recent letter to California’s Air Resources Board, RFA said California’s refusal to approve E15 means drivers there are paying higher gas prices and seeing higher greenhouse gas emissions. Citing CARB data, RFA says that if all gasoline sold in California in 2022 had been E15 instead of E10, the state would have used 450 million fewer gallons of fossil fuel and saved 2.2 billion metric tons of carbon.
He said it. “With U.S. debt at a record $34 trillion, deficits of almost $2 trillion, and interest payments alone projected to be at $1 trillion next year, it is imperative that elected leaders on both sides of the aisle follow through on their commitment to rein in spending.” – House Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, responding to the CBO analysis of potential spending caps.
Steve Davies and Jacqui Fatka contributed to this report.
