White House Releases President’s Budget

On Thursday, the White House released President Biden’s budget request for the fiscal year 2024. The budget included $30.1 billion in spending across the Department of Agriculture (USDA), an increase of 14% from the fiscal year 2023. The largest increases at USDA were for nutrition and climate programs. The full budget can be found here.

USDA Provides Update on Assistance to Rice Farmers

USDA previewed its plans to provide $250 million in assistance to rice farmers. USDA announced once the official notice is published later this year, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) will mail prefilled applications to producers. These applications will use the information on file with FSA or the Risk Management Agency. USDA believes this will streamline and simplify the application process. USDA will provide more information when FSA announces the signup period in the coming weeks. The funding for this program was included in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. Read the press release here.