Senate to vote on shutdown; farm groups call for action 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D, said late Thursday that the Senate would hold votes on the government shutdown today, but that those efforts are likely to fail. 

Thune said he did not expect the Senate to hold votes over the weekend, which means that the shutdown will last at least until next week. 

Meanwhile, a coalition of farm groups including the Republican-leaning American Farm Bureau Federation and the Democratic-leaning National Farmers Union wrote congressional leaders a letter urging Congress to quickly pass a measure to reopen the federal government.

The groups said, “A government shutdown affects all American families and has significant consequences on farmers, ranchers, growers and all who work to grow, process, deliver and prepare the food our nation relies on.

“Currently, the agriculture community is weathering an economic storm; many growers are facing crop prices near record lows while production expenses continue to increase.”