WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins said the USDA will begin resuming some programs on Thursday despite the government shutdown that has frozen agricultural support services across the U.S.

In a post on X, Rollins said the USDA will re-open county offices and resume Farm Service Agency core operations, including critical services for farm loan processing, ARC/PLC payments and other programs. This represents over $3 billion in assistance that farmers counted on in their business planning decisions, Rollins said.

“(Trump) is standing up for our farmers while Democrats obstruct. Special thanks to our great USDA employees who continue to work without pay to serve our farmers and ranchers,” Rollins said in her posts.

The Wall Street Journal reported the $3 billion in aid comes from money in the Commodity Credit Corp., created in 1933 to stabilize farm incomes.

Rollins has hinted that additional bailout funding is being discussed, although it wouldn’t be available until the government re-opens. WSJ reported the administration is discussing a bailout of more than $10 billion, but reopening offices and programs allows farmers to access available funding in the meantime.

Although farmers are slated to harvest another historic corn and soybean crop this fall, galloping input and equipment costs have eroded the bottom. U.S. soybean farmers are expected to lose about $100 an acre this year. 

Compounding the issue is the trade war with China, which halted imports of U.S. soybeans. China typically buys 25% of its soybean supply from American soybeans, but the country has opted to fill the gap by placing billions in orders from South American countries, especially Brazil. 

Last December, lawmakers passed a $10 billion bailout for farmers to help with low commodity prices.

WSJ reported that Trump plans to push Chinese leader Xi Jinping to buy U.S. soybeans to help struggling American farmers. The two leaders are scheduled to meet next week on the sidelines during a summit in South Korea.