Statewide Iowa — (RI) — The partial federal government shutdown is impacting Iowans from farmers to college researchers. While Farm Service Agency offices were initially open during the shutdown, they’re now closed in every Iowa county, cutting off some farmers from programs and payments.
Iowa farmer Brent Renner says he got his payment related to losses from the 2018 trade war, but other farmers were left waiting. Renner says the F-S-A runs all sorts of loan and payment programs.
Renner filled out his paperwork for the Market Facilitation Program and says he received his check after the shutdown began but before year’s end. The original deadline was in January and he says some farmers had reason to wait.
Renner says there’s now no one to process applications or cut checks. He says farmers in his area remain hopeful the shutdown will be resolved soon, before anyone’s situation becomes dire. Meanwhile, faculty members and researchers at Iowa’s colleges and universities who planned to apply for federal grants and fellowships are seeing those options vanish. Amy Erica Smith, a political science professor at Iowa State University, expected to be spending time this month reviewing graduate student applications for a National Science Foundation fellowship.
Smith says the government closure takes some extra work off her plate, so it’s not a hardship for her.
While the disruption means Smith has less work at the moment, it could also mean a tighter deadline later.
