USDA Budget Cuts Proposed for FY20

USDA Budget Cuts Proposed for FY20

On March 11, 2019, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released the Trump Administration’s proposed budget for the U.S. Government in Fiscal Year (FY) 2020. Under the budget proposal, funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) would be reduced by $3.6 billion or 14.8 percent, compared to FY2019 levels.

The budget proposal retains some funding for USDA research programs. It “prioritizes competitive research through [USDA’s] flagship grant program, the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI),” providing an additional $100 million for the initiative (over FY2019 levels). However, large funding cuts are proposed for other research programs, including:

• the Agricultural Research Service, which would have its funding cut by $133 million or 9.5 percent (compared to FY2019 levels); and
• the National Agricultural Statistics Service, which would have its funding cut by $28 million or 14.7% (compared to FY2019 levels).