​By Professor Susan A. Schneider

2025 Updates

 

Updates for this chapter may overlap with a number of other pages. Please refer to those pages for specific resources. For example, Trump administration Executive Orders and related executive department actions are posted on the Trump Administration Actions page.

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Background Reports

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• Agriculture Appropriations: Earmarks Disclosed from FY2022 to FY2024, Cong. Res. Serv. Rep. 48471 (Mar. 25, 2025)

• Farm Sector Income & Finances: Farm Sector Income Forecast USDA, ERS (Feb. 6, 2025)​

• Organic Situation Report, 2025 Edition, EIB-281, USDA ERS (Feb. 5, 2025)

• Farm Sector Income & Finances - Highlights from the Farm Income Forecast, USDA, ERS (Dec. 24, 2024)​​

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USDA Implementation Issues

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There is continued confusion regarding the impact of Trump administration policies on exisitng USDA contracts and grants with farmers and rural communities, with some contracts canceled, some honored, and others in unknown status. The following updates attempt to monitor a confusing scenario.

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April 16, 2025 Update:

• A Rhode Island District Court issued a preliminary injunction enjoining the USDA, EPA, HUD, and the departments of Energy and Interior from freezing, halting or pausing funding that was duly awarded under the Inflation Reduction Act or the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The injunction orders the agencies to resume processing, disbursement and payment. See Federal Agencies Must Release IRA Funds, Progressive Farmer (Apr. 16, 2025). Other judges have ruled consistently.

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• See Just Security for additional litigation updates. 

 

April 14, 2025 Update:

• Some farmer individual contracts with USDA have been honored; some have not; Contracts and cooperative agreements with entities for work are being reviewed and either accepted, modified or rejected depending on the work to be done and the wording of the contract. In April USDA published a list of entity contracts that had all been canceled.

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• The Biden Administration program, Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities was reviewed and referred to as a "green new scam." The Trump administration rejected or reformed some of the partnerships, affirming others and renamed the program the Advancing Markets for Producers Initiative. See USDA announcement, USDA Cancels Biden Era Climate Slush Fund, Reprioritizes Existing Funding to Farmers, USDA Press Release (Apr. 14, 2025).  See USDA Reboots Biden-Era Climate Program, Progressive Farmer (Apr. 14, 2025).

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March 18, 2025 Update:

• The USDA announced that the sign up period for the Emergency Commodity Assistance Program (ECAP) for 2024, as mandated by the American Relief Act, 2025 (the stop gap funding bill passed in December 2024) will begin on March 19, 2025. Pre-filled ECAP applications for the direct payments are being mailed to producers. Up to $10 Billion will be available. USDA Expediting $10 Billion in Direct Economic Assistance to Agricultural Producers, USDA FSA News Release (Mar. 18, 2025.

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March 12-14, 2025 Update:

• The USDA announced that it was canceling $1 Billion in contracts under the Local Food for Schools Program and the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement. Both programs funded the purchase of locally grown foods by communities, schools, and assistance organization. See, news reports: 

  • USDA cancels $1B in local food purchasing for schools, food banks, Politico (Mar. 10, 2025);  

  • USDA cancels $1 billion in funding for schools and food banks to buy food from local suppliers, CBS (Mar. 13, 2025); 

  • Farmers face steep losses in the middle of Trump's trade war and funding cuts, NBC News (Mar. 14, 2025).

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• Rep. Chelley Pingree, along with 82 member of the U.S. House of Representatives and Adam Schiff along with a a group of 32 U.S. Senators each sent letters on March 14, 2025 to USDA criticizing the USDA decision to cancel local food contracts:  Pingree House Letter ; Schiff Senate letter

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March 10, 2025 Update:

• Reports indicate that the USDA is reviewing all spending and allowing some contracts to move forward while delaying or cancelling other programs and contracts with farmers; There is confusion as to what is moving forward and what is not. Programs funded by the Inflation Reduction Act are thought to be particularly vulnerable, as is assistance directed to under-served farmers and climate-related project

• For an excellent article on the confusion and the direct impact, see Farmers put plans, investments on hold under Trump USDA spending freeze, Reuters (Mar. 10, 2025)

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March 6, 2025 Update:  

• Second federal judge blocks spending freeze; see, A second federal judge has ruled to block the Trump administration's spending freeze, NPR (Mar. 6, 2025) (good explanation of litigation to that date)

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February 24, 2025 Update: 

• Inside the USDA, Staffers Struggle with Trump’s Funding Freeze (One office in the Agriculture Department provides a window into how efforts to comply with Trump’s DEI order have halted some grant payments, even as judges have ordered the federal government to end its broad funding freeze.) Wash. Post (Feb. 24, 2025).

 

February 20, 2025 Update:

• USDA says it will release $20 million of frozen farmer funds, Reuters (Feb. 20, 2024). The USDA announced that it will release approximately $20 million in conservation contract funding.This funding relates to contracts previously entered into by farmers and the USDA. Withholding this funding was not permitted under a federal court order. The USDA announcement indicates that this is the "first tranche" of funding paused by the administration and that its review of other funding continues, despite the court order. See, U.S. Judge says Trump administration violated order lifting spending freeze, Reuters (Feb. 10, 2025).

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February 18, 2025:  

• There is considerable fear and uncertainty among farmers and rural communities as aid that they depend on is withheld, contracts are placed on hold for review, and markets are lost​. Trump administration actions up to this point have not been good for farmers or the farm economy. The following news segment explains. 

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• Farmers feeling weight of Trump policies with shutdown of aid, PBS NewsHour (Feb. 17, 2025)

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​See also:  Letter from President of Farmers Union, Trump’s funding freeze leaves American farmers like me out in the cold, Rob Larew (Feb. 16, 2023)

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The National Farmers Union is collecting information from farmers who have contracts with the USDA that are not being honored or program benefits that have been frozen or denied. Please pass this collection website on to farmers and ranchers effected. Anonymous posting is an option. 

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Farm Bill Resources & Information

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• Farm Bill Primer: Animal Disease Management and Prevention, Cong. Res. Serv. In Focus Rep. No. IF 12934 (Feb. 28, 2025)

• Pricing Amendments to the Federal Milk Marketing Orders, Cong. Res. Serv. In Focus Rep. No. IF 12923 (Feb. 24, 2025)

• Agriculture and Related Agencies: FY2025 Appropriations, Cong. Res. Serv. Rep. No. R48431 (Feb. 2. 2025)

• Farm Bills: Major Legislative Actions, Cong. Res. Rep. No. R45210 (Dec. 26, 2025)

• Expiration of the 2018 Farm Bill and Extension for 2025, Cong. Res. Serv. Rep. (Dec. 26, 2024) 

• The 2024 Farm Bill: H.R. 8467 Compared with Current Law, Cong. Res. Serv. Rep. R48167 (Dec. 16, 2024) 

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Tariffs and Trade

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General Resources

• U.S. Trade Policy: Trade Functions of Key Federal Agencies, Cong. Res. Serv. In Focus Rep. No. IF11016 (Mar. 25, 2025)

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• There has been a confusing array of tariff threats, tariffs imposed and released, tariffs imposed again or increased and retaliatory tariffs enacted; The following tariff trackers provide helpful insight and reporting:  

  • Reed Smith Trade Compliance Resource Hub, Trump 2.0 Tariff Tracker 

  • Trump Tariffs: Tracking the Economic Impact of the Trump Trade War, Tax Foundation (Mar. 25, 2025)

  • Trump’s tariffs: Tracking the status of international trade actions, Supply Chain Dive (Mar. 28, 2025)

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Rough timeline on relevant trade issues

• Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Imposes Tariffs on Imports from Canada, Mexico and China (Feb. 1, 2025)

• Tariff delayed 30 days: Trump pauses tariffs on Mexico and Canada, but not China, Reuters (Feb. 3, 2025); China responded with countermeasures including tariff on ag machinery

• On March 4, 2025:  U.S. tariffs against Canada and Mexico went into effect; Canada and China imposed retaliatory measures - including China's tariff on US farm goods

• March 6, 2025:  U.S. tariffs on many products from Mexico and Canada are postponed until April 2; some Canadian tariffs suspended

• March 10, 2025: China imposes an additional 15% tariff on specific U.S. farm products, including chicken, pork, soybeans and beef.

• March 12, 2025: In reaction to significant tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports, the EU takes retaliatory measures with tariffs on specified U.S. goods including some agricultural products (bourbon and peanut butter impacted);

• See Trump has begun another trade war. Here’s a timeline of how we got here, AP (Mar. 13, 2025)

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Numerous news outlets are reporting on concerns about the impact of the Trump trade wars on farmers and the agricultural economy:  See, e.g., the following news reports: 

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Tallying Up the Latest Retaliatory Tariffs, Farm Bureau (Mar. 18, 2025)

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North Dakota went big for Trump. Now many farmers say they face an uncertain future, NPR (Mar. 14, 2025);  

Farmers strongly back Trump. A new trade war could test their loyalty, NPR (Mar. 7, 2025); 

Farmers face steep losses in the middle of Trump's trade war and funding cuts, NBC News (Mar. 14, 2025).

 

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