The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture reviewed USDA’s Fiscal Year 2023 budget request last week. USDA is requesting $195.9 billion. During the hearing, Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack asked lawmakers to not lose sight of farm families that need help financially. “There are 61,670 farm families on the brink. Those farm families are either delinquent in their loans to USDA, are bankrupt or are pending foreclosure.” Lawmakers, including Subcommittee Ranking Member John Hoeven, followed up on disaster relief for farmers and ranchers. Vilsack said more details on the new WHIP+ program will be released this month. Kansas Senator Jerry Moran asked Vilsack if additional ad-hoc money is needed for future disaster relief. “Our disaster assistance programs are a one-size-fits-all, but the reality is there are multiple types of disasters in areas. It will be important and necessary in the future to have enough flexibility and resources to tailor disaster assistance to the actual disaster.”
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