Crop Insurance Cuts

President Trump's fiscal 2018 budget proposes to cut crop insurance by $29 billion over 10 years, slash nearly 30 percent from food stamp spending and gut some key conservation, international food aid and rural development programs.

In an attempt to lower federal spending by $3.6 trillion over 10 years, the budget also proposes to cut USDA staff by 5.5 percent across a range of agencies.

I got a press release from U.S. Wheat Associates saying they are very disappointed that the Administration's proposed FY 2018 budget eliminates funding for the USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service Market Access Program (MAP) and Foreign Market Development (FMD) program and severely cuts funding for food aid programs. These cuts and other proposed cuts to the farm safety net would be devastating to wheat farmers who are already facing severely challenging economic conditions.

National Corn Growers Association:

"The time and place to debate farm bill programs is during the farm bill reauthorization, not the annual budget process. The farm bill represents a 5-year commitment to America's farmers and ranchers, which Congress made in 2014. We are counting on Congress to honor that commitment, and reject cuts that would be harmful for rural America. These proposed budget cuts would hurt farmers' ability to manage risk, grow their revenues, and farm more sustainably.

I have received email expressions similar to these the US grains Council, and the national sorghum producers Association.

It's amazing how everyone seems to be happy about a president that will cut spending, but no one wants to be one of those cuts. Understandable, she can't have it both ways.