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Trump budget plan would limit crop insurance, cut programs

A White House document shows areas where President Trump is proposing to cut USDA spending.  The budget proposal would limit ag commodity payments and crop insurance eligibility to farmers with less than 500-thousand dollars in adjusted gross income.  The plan would also limit crop insurance premium subsidies. 

Trump also proposed capping crop insurance underwriting gains, establishing user fees for the Food Safety and Inspection Service and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.  User fees would also begin for the Agricultural Marketing Service and the Packers and Stockyards Program. 

The White House also proposes eliminating some programs as part of it’s 15% USDA budget cut.  The Rural Economic Development Program, interest payments to utilities, and lower-priority farm bill programs are on the President’s chopping block.

Many of Trump’s proposals have been defeated by Congress before and are seeing opposition within his own party now.  Senate Ag Committee Chairman Pat Roberts says the 2018 Farm Bill provided certainty and predictability to farmers and ranchers and now is not the time to be making changes to the vital risk management tools that are essential to producers.