Door and Kewaunee County farmers can finally get help from the government during the shutdown. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is reopening hundreds of Farm Service Agency offices across the country on Thursday, Friday, and Tuesday. Twelve offices will be opening in Wisconsin and about 2,500 FSA employees have been recalled to work. They have not been getting paid during the shutdown, and won’t get paid for working these three days until after the shutdown has ended. Aerica Bjurstrom is the Agricultural Agent for the UW Extension in Kewaunee County and she says this could be a big help to farmers. The loans they will be able to work on will help them from falling behind even further during the shutdown.
There are no FSA offices open in Door or Kewaunee County. The closest FSA office to Door and Kewaunee County is in Manitowoc. Farmers’ applications for getting any part of the $12 billion emergency aid package that was signed by President Trump have not been getting processed during the shutdown.