What the Government Shutdown Means for the 2018 Farm Bill

We are currently on day-27 of the government shutdown, which began Saturday, December 22. This is officially the longest government shutdown, surpassing the 21-day shutdown of 1995-1996.

While more than half the staff at the Department of Agriculture continued to work during the first week of the shutdown, USDA is gradually putting more and more “nonessential” employees on furlough. This means that the career-level staff who would write the implementing rules and regulations for the 2018 Farm Bill are not allowed to do so. Until the government reopens, implementation of the Farm Bill will not move forward.

It is unknown how long the shutdown will last at this time.