Market News
Vilsack relieved FSIS furloughs averted
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack is expressing relief that, as a result of this week’s Congressional action, furloughs of federal meat inspectors won’t be necessary.
But Vilsack tells Brownfield his agency is still dealing with other aspects of the sequester budget cuts.
“It’s the end of the story as it relates to the Food Safety Inspection Service,” Vilsack says, “but we anticipate and expect that there may very well be furloughs at the Farm Service Agency offices, and potentially in some of the other areas of USDA.
“We’re still in the process of taking a look at the numbers and crunching them.”
And Vilsack says other programs will also be impacted.
“We’re going to continue to see less money available for credit for farmers. We’re going to see less activity in conservation because of reductions in both staff and in terms of monies available for conservation projects,” he says, “and exports will still be impacted as a result of reductions in promotion resources”
USDA will also be forced to cut 152 million dollars from this year’s direct payments to farmers to comply with the automatic spending cuts.
Add Comment