Uncertain Future for the Country’s Agriculture Conservation Programs – CalCAN

The last two weeks have been dizzying for farmers and ranchers who receive federal funding for on-farm environmental projects, and also for the federal employees, researchers and non-profit organizations that support them with outreach and technical assistance, grants and loans, and other services.

A series of executive orders signed by President Trump soon after his inauguration led to a flurry of confusing and inconsistent actions to implement them, including a funding freeze across the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the abrupt termination of contracts, and the firing of thousands of probationary employees as well as some experienced career professionals.

The following is an update on the funding freeze from our friends at the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC):

As of Friday, February 14, the funding freeze enacted across all federal agencies is still at least partly in effect at USDA, EPA, and elsewhere despite multiple escalating court orders. It is expected to remain so for at least the next few days to next few weeks or even longer. This Times piece outlines many of the broad contours of the court cases right now, including escalating rhetoric from the administration and speculation around what may happen if they keep defying court orders. 

In the meantime, agencies like USDA are considering terminating or modifying active contracts deemed to be out of alignment with the administration’s priorities. Likely targets for scrutiny in the coming weeks and months are grant-funded projects focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), those serving underserved communities and producers, and climate change. It is also not yet clear if this scrutiny will be primarily targeted at nonprofit organizations or farmers or both. We do not yet know how quickly potential contract terminations or modifications will begin or how widespread the actions will be across agencies and programs.

On February 13, Brooke Rollins was sworn in as USDA’s new Secretary of Agriculture and now has responsibility for giving direction to USDA employees about following the court orders to resume funding and honor the contractual obligations of the agency. However, during her confirmation hearing, she gave no specific indication about what actions she would take. In her first press release, Rollins detailed the elimination of DEI programming, welcoming the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) into USDA and returning to USDA’s “core mission.”

Impacts on the ground 

In the swirl of confusion about which funding could be affected, we have heard stories from several farmers regarding the disruption to their USDA-funded projects. The landscape has been constantly shifting, and while these particular situations below may be outdated, they still illustrate what’s at stake. 

• An organic specialty crop producer in Monterey County who grows an array of Asian vegetables had requested a $90,000 reimbursement for cover crop seed and compost she had already paid for as part of an Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) grant. She was very worried about defaulting on a loan if she didn’t receive the reimbursement she was counting on to make her mortgage payment.
• A specialty crop farmer in Ventura County is awaiting reimbursement for a portion of a three-year $250,000 EQIP grant to install new pumps and motors and to line reservoirs to conserve water.
• A farm school which grows fresh nutrient-dense organic produce for a large Central Valley school district and provides hands-on education to community college students was told their grant funding for six new paid internships was suspended indefinitely.
• A beginning farmer mixed vegetable operation in Mendocino County was in the final stages of getting reimbursed for $13,000 worth of equipment they purchased with support from the USDA’s Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure (RFSI) program. Then they were advised to suspend all purchasing under the grant.
• A citrus grower in Fresno County was told his EQIP grant to fund compost and cover crops was on hold. He also applied for a tractor replacement under a different grant program but is now afraid that the USDA  may pull out of all contracts, awarded or not. 

Last week in Washington DC, CalCAN took part in two successive strategy meetings of networks of sustainable and organic non-profit organizations. The first was the annual meeting of NSAC and it brought together dozens of member organizations to strategize about the federal challenges and the farm bill. The second was a meeting of representatives from 18 states in CalCAN’s National Healthy Soils Policy Network who came together to learn from one another about how to advance state-level healthy soils policies, programs and funding. Blogs with details from each of these meetings will be posted in the coming weeks. 

Although the meetings had different priorities, there was a pall over both meetings. Many members of these networks were receiving word in real-time about the impacts of the Trump administration’s defiance of court orders. Specifically how the actions would impact their work and that of their farmer partners, many of whom are small and medium-sized, organic, diversified, farmers of color, and/or beginning farmers. For example, nearly every member of the National Network reported having a grant frozen or terminated, and some have already laid off staff or are supporting them in pursuing other employment opportunities due to the elimination of programs aimed at underserved producers. The news kept rolling in about partners in the government, Resource Conservation Districts, academic institutions and fellow non-profits that are ending projects or scrambling to figure out how to plug financial gaps left by reimbursements that are not being honored by the USDA.

What you can do

➡️ Contact Your Member of Congress – or go see them in person!

Members of Congress will be back in their home districts during the weeks of Feb. 17-22 and March 17-22. This is a great time to contact your representatives and let them know how the funding freeze will impact you and your community and your concerns with the disruption to agricultural funding and program delivery. You can find your representatives’ websites by searching here. Try to schedule an in-person meeting or send them an email or voice message. Below is a sample message:

 “My name is _______ and I live in your district in [town or city]. I am alarmed by the Trump administration’s actions that interrupt federal funding for agricultural conservation, including financial assistance to farmers for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving soil health on their operations. I urge you to defend funding for programs such as the Environmental Quality Improvements Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP). They are very popular with farmers and ranchers (almost three of every four farmers who apply are turned away), and they fund practices that curb climate change and improve water and air quality for rural Americans.” *If you are a farmer or an organization affected, include details about how you or your operation is being impacted.*