WACO, Texas (KXXV) \u2014 After weeks without progress in Washington, farmers across Central Texas are starting to feel the strain.<\/p>\n
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‘Hitting the breadbasket of America’: Central Texas farmers feel the strain as government shutdown drags on<\/p>\n
The government shutdown has put a freeze on key USDA programs, leaving farmers without access to loans, crop reports and disaster assistance they depend on this time of year.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust knowing that people in our community are going to be affected by this is troubling,\u201d said Beth Ferguson, interim executive director of World Hunger Relief.<\/p>\n
Ferguson said the shutdown has delayed crucial federal funding.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were hoping to apply for a federal USDA grant through the NRCS, but when we were going to go to the office, we checked and they’re actually closed, so that’s delayed that funding. We don’t know when or if that funding is going to be available even once the government does open back up,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Earlier this week, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins posted on X that the USDA will resume \u201ccore operations\u201d starting Thursday.<\/p>\n
Laramie Adams, associate government affairs director with the Texas Farm Bureau, said the longer the shutdown lasts, the harder it will be for farmers to recover.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think this is a testament to USDA understanding the challenges that these farmers are faced with. As decisions are being made in Washington DC, these lawmakers need to realize that this is hitting the bread basket of America,\u201d Adams said.<\/p>\n
He added that it is a story playing out across rural America, but here in Central Texas, farmers say they are just trying to hang on.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government shutdown comes at a time that these farmers and ranchers were already struggling. A lot of things that are beyond their control that they’ve been having to deal with,\u201d Adams said.<\/p>\n
Despite the challenges, Ferguson said she remains hopeful.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are very resilient and we’re able to shift gears and kind of pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and look for different funding opportunities. It’s actually a really great way for the community to come together and come up with really creative ways to support one another through this time and look for alternative funding methods,\u201d Ferguson said.<\/p>\n
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