Funding Freeze Impacts: Farmers and Organizations Speak Out

Since January, the Trump Administration has frozen vast swathes of federal spending under a series of Executive Orders, including at the United States Department of Agriculture. Hundreds of thousands of lawful, signed, active contracts and grants – supporting critical conservation payments, farmer technical assistance, sustainable agriculture research, market infrastructure, and so much more, and representing billions of dollars in federal funding – are frozen, which threatens farms, jobs, and livelihoods in communities nationwide. 

Federal courts have delivered ruling after ruling that the funding freeze must be lifted – but to date, the Administration has yet to act to unfreeze funding and with every passing week, the situation worsens: farmers and organizations are facing layoffs, work stoppages, and rising debt due to the federal government’s failure to honor its legally binding financial commitments.

Farmers, ranchers, and advocates are speaking out.  In February, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) members hit Capitol Hill in force, holding nearly 150 meetings with lawmakers, emphasizing the urgent need to release owed payments. Farmers and advocates shared personal stories about how they have been left in limbo, unsure how to plan for the upcoming season or cover expenses. These stories deserve to be heard in this moment. Our coalition has been working tirelessly to elevate the voices of people directly affected, connecting policy issues to real-world consequences. Below is a sampling of recent media coverage.

Farmers, Advocates, and NSAC Speak Out

NBC News: 

• Farmers hit by a federal funding freeze scramble to respond ahead of spring thaw
• Farmers Struggling Due to Funding Freeze

“Ang Roell, a farmer and beekeeper in Massachusetts, had planned to begin installing deer-proof fencing, mulch and an irrigation system for a recently planted orchard — an initiative supported by more than $30,000 in federal grants that are now on hold.

Without that money, Roell worries that when the chestnut trees and elderberry bushes begin to sprout leaves in just a few weeks, there will be nothing to stop deer from chewing up the baby leaves. And Roell said the farm will struggle to keep the plants regularly watered and weeded without the infrastructure it had been counting on.

“We risk losing the plants because we can’t keep up with the watering schedule,” Roell said. “The delay of time might not seem like a big deal for someone who is not a farmer. But it actually is.””

Des Moines Register: USDA lifts Trump freeze on some funding owed to farmers, vast majority remains on hold 

“About 1,000 Iowa and Midwest farmers said this month they’re owed $11 million for conservation work they completed last year. The bulk of the money — $9.6 million — is owed to Iowa farmers, the Iowa Soybean Association said.

The Trump administration’s actions, part of a broad government review now underway, also have left in doubt another $86 million promised Iowa and Midwest farmers under a five-year “climate smart” agriculture initiative approved during the Biden administration. The soybean association said Friday it’s not learned if money in the programs it’s administrating are included.

Practical Farmers of Iowa said Friday the group is hopeful USDA will pay farmers for planting cover crops and other conservation work they’ve completed. But it’s still unclear when the federal government will pay the group for its work, a commitment that’s supposed to reach about $4.4 million this year.

Meanwhile, the Conservation Districts of Iowa, a nonprofit that provides farmers with technical expertise on conservation efforts statewide, has laid off 38 employees because of the spending freeze.”

Arkansas Democrat Gazette: A deal is a deal. Or at least it used to be

“Dan Spatz, owner of Conway-based Healthy Flavors Farm, said, “If the current contracts that have been signed on EQIP are in question, then I’ve already put deposits down on fulfilling my side of the contract and, yes, I potentially could be impacted.”

The contract he mentions was signed in May, and he has until December 2027 to complete construction on his project. It stands to reason that any delay could result in an inability to pay the bank, so to speak. Just because the government stopped paying doesn’t mean the banks stopped collecting.

“We used to say, ‘the full faith and credit of the U.S. government’ and when you sign a contract with someone in a country of laws, you expect that contract to be honored, especially if it’s by your government; that’s the disturbing thing here,” Mr. Spatz said.”

Civil Eats: Exclusive: DOGE Cancels Contract That Enables Farmer Payments, Despite $0 Savings

“DOGE’s own accounting shows that because the contractor had already been paid in full, canceling the contract resulted in $0 in taxpayer savings.

Smith-Brubaker reached out to House Agriculture Chairman G.T. Thompson (R-Pennsylvania) today to share her concerns. “How will we look in the eyes of dairy farmers, providing the whole milk for which you’ve advocated, and tell them that, to save the government $0, we have to cancel work that would have brought them more stability and more business?” she asked.”

Additional Coverage

Civil Eats: 

• Farmers Say Climate-Smart Commodities Projects Are Crumbling
• Despite Cuts to DEI Initiatives, Food and Farm Advocates Say They Will Continue to Fight for Racial Justice
• Trump’s Funding Freeze Creates Chaos and Financial Distress for Farmers

Agri-Pulse Newsmakers: Feb. 21, 2025: Sen. Tina Smith on federal aid freeze, USDA layoffs

Daily Yonder: ‘This Business Just Wouldn’t Exist’ – Farmer Says Federal Program Was Critical to Success

Hagstrom Report: 

• NSAC to Rollins: Relieve and reverse pain, confusion
• Rollins releases some NRCS program funds, but groups want more

Grist: One senator’s lonely quest to make the farm bill more sustainable

WSKG NY: New York farmers continue to wait on frozen USDA funds

Newsmax: US Farmers in Dire Straits From Trump Spending Freeze

KTTN: Federal funding freeze leaves Missouri farmers struggling for aid

Public News Service/Kiowa County Press: Frozen funds hurting farmers in MO, nation

Iowa Public Radio: Trump’s freeze on federal funds leaves some farmers waiting in the cold

Farm Progress: Senate confirms Brooke Rollins to lead USDA

San Antonio Express News: Will Republicans Control of Congress Lead to Updated Ag Laws? Texas farmers hope so.

The Preamble: The Government Promised to Pay — Then it Didn’t

TriState Livestock News: Frozen Funding, Stalled Programs, Farm Bill Impacts: Farmers, Ranchers, and Advocates Elevate Urgent Priorities on Capitol Hill

Lancaster Farming: Pasa Sustainable Agriculture Executive Director Opposes Federal Grant Freeze

Pittsburg Post-Gazette: Pa. farmers feel funding pinch as federal freezes trigger labor and infrastructure instability

PBS: Farmers are feeling the weight of Trump policies 

WPSU: Centre County residents protest against Trump administration and Elon Musk

NBC News: Farmers hit by a federal funding freeze scramble to respond ahead of spring thaw

WSKG NY: New York farmers continue to wait on frozen USDA funds

Providence Journal: Make good on the contract’: How Trump’s spending freeze has left RI farmers in a lurch

Farms.com: CalCAN Joins Farming Organizations from Around the Country in D.C. for NSAC’s 2025 Winter Meeting

The New Lede: USDA’s climate webpage purge breaks laws and hurts farmers, lawsuit alleges

The New York Times: Farmers Sue Over Deletion of Climate Data From Government Websites

Reuters: USDA review of University of Maine funding could hit PFAS, biofuel research

NSAC has been a leader in agricultural policy for more than 35 years and has been instrumental in helping to develop some of our nation’s most successful agricultural programs for conserving natural resources, advancing the next generation of farmers, supporting agricultural research, and creating sustainable market connections. To stay informed about this and other important issues, sign up for NSAC’s free e-newsletter!

The post Funding Freeze Impacts: Farmers and Organizations Speak Out appeared first on National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition.