The USDA will furlough approximately 42,000 employees in accordance with its 2025 Lapse of Funding Plan after Congress failed to reach an agreement on how to extend federal funding. This represents nearly half of the agency’s workforce.

Mission-critical activities that include food safety inspection and some lab operations will continue. Reuters’ Leah Douglas, P.J. Huffstutter and Julie Ingwersen report the USDA will use emergency funds to continue animal health programs that address diseases such as bird flu and New World screwworm. The issuance of new farm loans would be paused; however, some operations of the Farm Service Agency (FSA) would be maintained. This will depend upon the length of the shutdown.

At the FSA, 6,377 of the 9,468 employees will be furloughed. Agri-Pulse’s Phillip Brasher reports that payment processing and disaster assistance processing would be paused. If a shutdown continues past 10 days, one farm loan employee and/or county office farm program employee per service center will be excepted on call to complete certain loan processing. This would protect the security interest of the government and prevent the loss of security or loss of value to the owner.

The USDA will discontinue all non-mandatory data collection and most research. This includes closely watched reports such as the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE). According to the USDA plan, much of the work would be suspended at the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Foreign Agricultural Service, Food and Nutrition Service, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Economic Research Service, National Agricultural Statistical Service and Rural Development.

The National Resources Conservation Service will furlough 8,849 of its 9,237 employees. Brasher reports that some work may continue using farm bill money and leftover funding.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will continue during the shutdown with the Office of Management and Budget issuing reserve funding as needed.

Read more about the USDA Lapse of Funding Plan here.

View the complete 2025 USDA Lapse of Funding Plan here.

Read how ProAg is prepared to protect and serve our policyholders during the shutdown here.