The Trump Administration’s budget recommendations call for cuts at the Farm Service Agency and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, cuts in ag research and long-standing programs like Food for Peace. “I think the President’s budget is a non-starter,” said Minnesota Senator Tina Smith. “A lot of Republicans in Congress are saying the same thing because they understand that funding for USDA works. “We know the importance of the FSA, but there also cuts to Rural Development and that is a big issue when you look at what we’ve been trying to do to expand child care and housing in rural communities. If you don’t have those two things, life really doesn’t work for a lot of farm families.” In an interview with RRFN, Smith also addressed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr.’s ‘Make America Healthy Again’ strategy, which is critical of food produced with added sugars and seed oils. “I’m very concerned about what Secretary Kennedy has in mind,” said Smith. “I don’t get the sense that what he is working on is based on facts, science and data and I don’t think he has any idea about the impact it could have on the farm economy, especially in northwest Minnesota.” Smith is a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee.
