A Reuters report says President Trump’s budget proposal contains $46.54 billion in cuts to government funding in the Ag sector, with those cuts spread out over ten years. 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 percent cut in the federally subsidized crop insurance program. That’s a larger cut than what the Obama Administration proposed and was ultimately rejected by farm state 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.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting news service.