By Mary Jane Buerkle Plains Cotton Growers, Inc. Congress avoided a government shutdown this week by passing two spending packages that will extend funding for a variety of programs, including provisions for agriculture, particularly in disaster assistance. A couple of key provisions important to the PCG region will: Extend the availability of unobligated/unused funds that were initially designated for agriculture disaster assistance due to the 2017 hurricanes through the passage of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 which were set to expire at the end of this calendar year. Make producers affected by additional disaster events including drought, excessive moisture, and quality losses due ...