The U.S. Department of Agriculture furloughed about half of its 85,907-person staff, according to agency shutdown plans posted on its website. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins posted on social media: "billions in disaster aid blocked from reaching farmers." Now, the USDA has stopped issuing weather-related disaster payments, accepting and processing farm loans, providing technical assistance for conservation programs and swaths of other agency work, the agency shutdown plan said. ADVERTISEMENTFour farmers told Reuters they had received payments on Tuesday night, and while the amount of money was small in some cases, it would aid them through the shutdown. The timing of this shutdown is particularly disruptive because farmers often rely on USDA loans to pay for machinery, fertilizer and other expenses during harvest season, said economist Hart.