The House this week passed a stop gap funding bill by approving a continuing resolution to avoid a government shut-down. Lawmakers in their measure restored agricultural program funding including that for the commodity credit corporation. South Dakota Farm Bureau President Scott VanderWal says that’s critical for agriculture and without it farmers and ranchers would be suffering even more from the pandemic.

He says without passage of the stop gap bill, ccc funding would have dried up until November or December which would have hit agriculture hard.

VanderWal says besides the funding bill passage and the recent CFAP 2 funding, farmers and ranchers are still struggling financially and the next step the government needs to do is follow through with trade agreements.

The Federal Budget year ends September 30..