White House Budget Proposal Cuts Ag Spending $46 Billion

According to Reuters, President Trump’s budget proposal contains $46.54 billion in cuts to USDA funding over the next decade.  The biggest proposed cut is $38 billion dollars from farm support programs.  Those cuts include new limits on federal subsidies for crop insurance premiums and a cap on potential commodity program payments.

The president proposes a 36% cut in the federally subsidized crop insurance program.  That’s a larger cut than what the Obama Administration proposed and was ultimately rejected by rural lawmakers.  Crop insurance cuts would yield the largest savings, including $16.2 billion by limiting the government’s share of premiums.

It would also save $11.9 billion by eliminating the harvest-price option. The proposed budget cuts would actually eliminate the Rural Development Program, which provides zero-interest loans to rural utilities and support to rural businesses. It would also reduce government costs for federal inspectors at meat plants in two years by adding $600 million in user fees for the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service.

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