Farm Progress

Government shutdown impact expands

Many agricultural reports have been cancelled due to the government shutdown, leaving farmers and ranchers with less information for fall harvest and planting decisions.

Ron Smith 1, Senior Content Director

October 9, 2013

2 Min Read
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The list keeps growing. Farmers and other agriculture entities, from grain dealers to seed companies to equipment manufacturers and anyone else who earns a living from farm and ranch-related business, can no longer rely on the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and other government crop reporting and tracking agencies to provide the data necessary to make decisions on how to sell the crop coming out of the fields and how to plan for the next one.

All this because of the government shutdown.

Farm Service Agency (FSA) personnel are on furlough, so farmers and ranchers can’t get answers to questions they have about programs, loans and services. The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) workforce is also on forced hiatus, leaving landowners with questions on conservation projects or needing help to complete projects without that valuable assistance.

And just this week, partly because of the NASS furloughs, the weekly Texas Crop and Weather Report, an informative update on weather conditions, crop outlooks, and other issues that affect the vital agriculture industry in every part of the state, is not available until the standoff ends.

A brief notice from Robert Burns, who pulls the information together every week for Texas AgriLife, explained the cancellation:

“Due to the lapse in federal government funding to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistic Service, commonly known as NASS, there will not be a Texas crop and weather report this week.

“No Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service personnel positions have been furloughed. However, the weekly crop and weather report is jointly prepared by NASS and AgriLife Extension.

“When funding is restored to NASS, the weekly report will resume. We regret the inconvenience. For other stories about Texas A&M AgriLife, see http://today.agrilife.org.”

Farmers, ranchers, and others may be, in some cases, making decisions without all the information they need.

If you are enjoying reading this article, please check out Southwest Farm Press Daily and receive the latest news right to your inbox.

 

 

More on government shutdown from Southwest Farm Press:

How will government shutdown affect agriculture?

Government shutdown expected to have small price impact

Despite shutdown, ag industry moves forward

About the Author

Ron Smith 1

Ron Smith 1

Senior Content Director, Farm Press/Farm Progress

Ron Smith has spent more than 40 years covering Sunbelt agriculture. Ron began his career in agricultural journalism as an Experiment Station and Extension editor at Clemson University, where he earned a Masters Degree in English in 1975. He served as associate editor for Southeast Farm Press from 1978 through 1989. In 1990, Smith helped launch Southern Turf Management Magazine and served as editor. He also helped launch two other regional Turf and Landscape publications and launched and edited Florida Grove and Vegetable Management for the Farm Press Group. Within two years of launch, the turf magazines were well-respected, award-winning publications. Ron has received numerous awards for writing and photography in both agriculture and landscape journalism. He is past president of The Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association and was chosen as the first media representative to the University of Georgia College of Agriculture Advisory Board. He was named Communicator of the Year for the Metropolitan Atlanta Agricultural Communicators Association. More recently, he was awarded the Norman Borlaug Lifetime Achievement Award by the Texas Plant Protection Association. Smith also worked in public relations, specializing in media relations for agricultural companies. Ron lives with his wife Pat in Johnson City, Tenn. They have two grown children, Stacey and Nick, and three grandsons, Aaron, Hunter and Walker.

See more from Ron Smith 1
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