Farmers are frustrated by last week’s shutdown of the federal government and expiration of the 2008 farm bill, said Iowa Farm Bureau President Craig Hill.

"It’s a little bit difficult to separate the two," he said.

The federal government shutdown, which took effect Oct. 1 after Congress failed to pass a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund operations, affected farmers in a number of ways, including closing of some U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) offices and disrupting funding for a number of government programs.

Federal meat inspectors remained on...