Source: POLTICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 3/12/19

Top Democrats on the House and Senate Ag committees on Monday were quick to bash Trump's new budget request as a betrayal of the 2018 farm bill he signed in December, H.R. 2 (115). The ambitious fiscal blueprint proposed shrinking USDA's budget by 15 percent compared with spending estimates for fiscal 2019, including steep cuts to major farm bill programs the Agriculture panels spent months negotiating.

Like virtually all presidential budgets, most of Trump's plan is going nowhere. But key Democrats and some industry groups are still taking it like a jab in the eye — setting up a renewed clash between Congress and the White House in the months ahead of the Sept. 30 funding deadline, your host writes.

"This budget was concocted by a bunch of ideologues who can't see what's clearly going on in the farm economy," House Agriculture Chairman Collin Peterson said in a statement. Senate Agriculture ranking member Debbie Stabenow was similarly critical, noting the "economic instability and trade uncertainty" facing farmers and ranchers.

Farm bill fissures: Trump's budget targets conservation programs for $8.9 billion in spending cuts over a decade, including elimination of the Conservation Stewardship Program, Pro Ag's Liz Crampton reports.

— Crop insurance and commodity subsidies would face $28 billion in proposed cuts, per our Catherine Boudreau. A coalition of trade groups representing the crop insurance sector called it "short-sighted" in a statement, arguing the policies would become unaffordable for farmers.

SNAP back in the spotlight: The budget would trim nearly $220 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program over 10 years, driven by stricter work requirements and a revival of last year's widely panned "Harvest Box" idea to replace some SNAP benefits with monthly deliveries of nonperishable foods.

— Fanning the flames: Trump and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue were already butting heads with Congress over USDA's proposed rule to clamp down on states issuing SNAP work waivers for able-bodied adults without dependents. The budget plan offers fresh ammo.

— Unexpected boost for AFRI: One area Trump wants to boost is a competitive research grant program known as the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative. The White House requested $500 million, a bump of $85 million. (The farm bill authorized up to $700 million annually for the initiative, but appropriators haven't allocated the full amount.)

From the GOP side: House Agriculture ranking member Mike Conaway praised Trump's budget for boosting military and border spending, but even the Texas Republican appeared skeptical of the USDA proposal.

"On agriculture, as the president knows, the farm safety net accounts for less than a quarter of one percent — a rounding error by Washington standards," Conaway said in a statement. "So when the chips are down we must keep our promise to farmers and ranchers and rural America made under the five-year farm bill, and I fully expect the president to be onboard."

Perdue defended the cuts as necessary, given the $22 trillion national debt.

Bottom line: The White House blueprint won't become law, but it will shape the budgetary battle among ag policymakers (and potentially factor into the debate over farm bill implementation) in the months ahead.