Vermont Worries Dairy Insurance Program Will Be Affected If Shutdown Drags On
The federal office that sets milk prices for the Northeast recently allowed milk to be dumped at the farm. Photo by Ric Cengeri for VPR
Farmers needing government loans confront empty offices and unanswered calls as the partial government shutdown drags into the fourth week. State officials are also concerned that the shutdown will result in a delay in developing a program designed to help struggling dairy farmers.
Call the Farm Service Agency‘s Vermont office, and you’ll hear a message with a unique kind of circular logic:
“We are not in the office at this time. We are on furlough due to the lapse in federal government funding. Please leave a voicemail,” the recording says. “Please note that we do not have access to voicemail due to the current lapse in funding.”