Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 1/29/19

House Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson said the committee will explore ways to keep FSA services running if there's another shutdown. The Minnesota Democrat told " Adams on Agriculture" he wasn't aware agency staff in charge of implementing mandatory farm bill programs were barred from continuing their work during the funding lapse.

Peterson is looking into whether it's possible to make arrangements for certain FSA workers to remain on the job during a shutdown, Pro Ag's Liz Crampton reports.

— "Farmers say to me, 'What's going on? NRCS offices are open but FSA isn't?'" Peterson said, referring to the Natural Resources Conservation Service, which retained full staffing during the shutdown thanks to leftover money from fiscal 2018. "It's hard to explain."

USDA employees were back to work Monday, but they're still grappling with what the new short-term continuing resolution, H.J. Res. 28 (116), means for major operations like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. A USDA spokesperson couldn't say whether they'll again turn to an obscure budgetary fix in the continuing resolution to pay out SNAP benefits early for March or even April.

— Crop data backlog: The National Agricultural Statistics Service was updating its release schedule for various data reports, as was the Economic Research Service. USDA publications that can sway commodity trading and influence planting decisions have bottled up for weeks amid the shutdown.

— Trade aid resumes: USDA has so far paid out $5.94 billion to commodity producers affected by retaliatory tariffs, a spokesperson told MA. FSA offices last week began offering a wide range of services even before the shutdown ended , including processing new trade relief payments, after the program had been frozen for weeks. The new deadline for applicants is Feb. 14.