The Agriculture Department recently announced it would extend the deadline for farmers to apply for Market Facilitation Program payments to help offset losses they are experiencing as a result of trade tensions between the U.S. and other countries, particularly China. Applications were due Jan. 15, but the department’s Farm Service Agency, which operates the program, closed on Dec. 28 after the agency ran out of funding because of the partial shutdown of the federal government.

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the application deadline will be extended “for a period of time equal to the number of business days FSA offices were closed, once the government shutdown ends.”