ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
It's national agriculture week, and farmers are nervous. They already worry about crop prices, the cost of farm supplies and extreme weather, and now the federal government is another big question mark. President Trump's tariff war will shape where farmers can sell their crops, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture might be shrinking. To explain the relationship between farmers and the federal government, we've called Ann Veneman, who was President George W. Bush's agriculture secretary. Good to have you here.
ANN VENEMAN: Well, it's great to be here. Thank you.
SHAPIRO: How are Trump's tariffs likely to affect farmers?
VENEMAN: Well, as you say, agriculture is an uncertain business, and I think uncertainty is what farmers face every day. But when you add on the disruption markets due to trade, these tariffs would fall most heavily on the U.S agriculture industry. So, for example, China has been a major export market for U.S. agricultural products. One-quarter of the U.S. crop of soybeans has been exported to China. They may lose that market if the tariffs go back on soybeans like they did in 2018.
SHAPIRO: Let's shift to the support that USDA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, provides to farmers. The majority of USDA spending goes to nutrition assistance programs, like SNAP benefits, also known as food stamps. If that shrinks, what does that mean for farmers in the U.S.?
VENEMAN: Certainly, farmers are supported in many ways. About 14% of USDA's budget goes directly to farm conservation and commodity programs, directly supporting farmers, much of it through subsidized crop insurance to insure against losses. But the USDA has so much more. For example, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Program has experts working to protect agriculture from pests and diseases, particularly, these days, bird flu. You know, we have the Food Safety Inspection Service in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It's responsible for the safety of the meat and poultry. And then, of course, you talk about the nutrition programs. They account for about 70% of the USDA budget.
SHAPIRO: Yeah.
VENEMAN: There is discussion about whether or not the SNAP program - the former food stamp program - will be cut, but there's also discussion about whether or not there may be some limitations on what you could buy.
SHAPIRO: I think a lot of the debate will probably be around cutting benefits to people in need, but does that have trickle-down impacts or trickle-up impacts on the farmers who produce the foods that become part of that food assistance program?
VENEMAN: Well, potentially, there is one program. It's about a billion-dollar program that the department has already said it's going to cut. It buys produce locally produced by farmers in the area for food banks and school lunch. That program is already being cut, and farmers that are depending on that program are already feeling the effects of that.
SHAPIRO: The government has frozen or ended a lot of grants to farmers. Here's what a dairyman named Travis Forgues told Wisconsin Public Radio after the federal government paused two five-figure grants he had for a new industrial freezer and solar panels.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED NPR BROADCAST)
TRAVIS FORGUES: We have the contract signed. Did I think that perhaps in the future these grants wouldn't be available? Absolutely 'cause that happens with different leaders in place. But did I, in the wildest dreams, think that they wouldn't honor their word as our federal government? Absolutely not.
SHAPIRO: Secretary Veneman, ultimately, at least one of his grants went through, but big picture, what does the uncertainty around this mean for farmers?
VENEMAN: Well, it puts them in a very difficult position. They've already started the work. They've already spent their part of the cost share. And if the money is not going to come from the federal government, it puts them in a very precarious position. They may then come under pressure from their banks because they can't pay back their loans. And I think when you have a contract, it should be honored.
SHAPIRO: When you were in office in the early 2000s as agriculture secretary, what did you hear most from farmers? What did they want the federal government to do more or less of?
VENEMAN: Well, farmers always want support, but I will say that farmers really want markets opened up around the world. When you look at what's happening today, when we're shutting off markets, that is exactly the opposite of what farmers wanted when I was at USDA.
SHAPIRO: Former agriculture secretary Ann Veneman, thank you so much for speaking with us.
VENEMAN: Well, thank you very much for having me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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