Each week, the editorial team at Greenhouse Grower and Meister Media Worldwide will bring you the latest updates from the Trump administration’s policies and their impact on floriculture, from labor to the farm bill to funding for anything from federal loans to research and Extension. We also want to hear from you. What questions do you have about immigration enforcement, tariffs, or other topics? Let us know, and we’ll do our best to get you answers.
Here’s our update for Feb. 13.
Farmers on the Hook
On Feb. 10, the Washington Post posted an article titled “Farmers on the hook for millions after Trump freezes USDA funds”. Farmers report missing millions of dollars of funding they were promised by the USDA, despite promises from the Trump administration that a federal funding freeze would not apply to projects directly benefiting individuals.
On his first day in office, President Donald Trump ordered the USDA to freeze funds for several programs designated by President Joe Biden’s signature clean-energy and health-care law, the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. The freeze paused some funding for the department’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program, which helps farmers address natural resource concerns, and the Rural Energy for America Program, which provides financial assistance for farmers to improve their infrastructure.
Farmers who signed contracts with the USDA under those programs paid up front to build fencing, plant new crops and install renewable energy systems with guarantees that the federal government would issue grants and loan guarantees to cover at least part of their costs. Now, with that money frozen, they’re on the hook.
Laura Beth Resnick, who runs a Maryland flower farm, said she signed a contract for the USDA to cover half of a $72,900 solar panel installation. In late January, she said, she was told her reimbursement payment was rejected because of Trump’s executive order.
“I really don’t know what we would do,” Resnick said. “It just feels like I can’t even really think about it.”
The USDA has also halted funding for other programs, including scientific research grants in agriculture and producing climate-smart crops, according to a letter sent to the agency Thursday from House Democrats on the Agriculture and Appropriations committees.
“Pulling the rug out from these recipients runs counter to the mission of the USDA and will quickly and significantly cripple economic development in rural America,” the letter says.
The White House repeatedly said the freeze of agriculture funding and other federal financial assistance would not affect benefits that go directly to individuals, such as farmers. The administration rescinded the pause after a federal judge temporarily halted its implementation.
But over the weekend, farmers reported that their funding remained frozen — another blow to farmers who are also facing threats of tariffs and freezes to foreign-aid spending that involved food purchased from American producers.
In a statement, a USDA spokesperson said the Trump administration “rightfully has asked for a comprehensive review of all contracts, work, and personnel across all federal agencies.”
“Anything that violates the President’s Executive Orders will be subject for review,” the statement said. “The Department of Agriculture will be happy to provide a response to interested parties once Brooke Rollins is confirmed [as secretary of agriculture] and has the opportunity to analyze these reviews.”
The USDA made $3.1 billion from the Inflation Reduction Act available in the 2024 fiscal year for climate-smart agriculture activities, according to the department, including grants and loans for initiatives such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program and the Rural Energy for America Program.
Some Research Grants Now Inaccessible
Here’s an update from American Vegetable Grower editor Carol Miller.
Editor’s note: Most interviewed for this article preferred to keep their identity private for fear of future reprisals.
Ag associations and universities across the country are scrambling to keep up with the depth of President Trump’s administrations freezes and cuts to funding. Even approved grants for both research and infrastructure are suddenly inaccessible.
One association has reported their log in to an approved grant account stopped working. A top agriculture researcher attached to a land grant college reports anonymously their USDA SCA (specific cooperative agreement) has been cancelled after it was approved and the funds are being transferred.
This researcher also has two funding requests that are stuck at pending.
“Neither have anything to do with DE [diversity and equity], transgender, or foreign aid,” they said.”
Another university has instructed its staff it can no longer use the survey program used by researchers accessing government funding. So, all of this university’s research involving surveying subjects is on hold.
And one top researcher at a major land grant college reports he has not had any of his funds frozen at this point. It’s difficult to discern what is being frozen and what is being rescinded.
University Responds to National Institute of Health Cuts
On Saturday, Feb. 8, leadership at Cornell University sent the following letter to its staff:
“We write today in response to yesterday’s NIH announcement of significant across-the-board reductions in indirect costs for research funding. Indirect costs cover essential expenses such as facilities, utilities, financial administration, and operations that enable research to flourish safely and responsibly. Indirect costs are an essential component of the decades-long partnership between the federal government and universities to conduct research that saves and improves lives and adds immeasurably to our economy. Federal cost sharing extends to many government agencies, and we are concerned that each of them may in turn be affected. These cuts violate this extraordinarily successful partnership and, if enacted, will irrevocably harm U.S. research and financially destabilize Cornell and universities across the nation.
Please know that Cornell is consulting peer institutions and legal experts to develop a coordinated response to this dramatic shift in funding academic research. We emphatically believe that cuts of this nature will irreparably harm American competitiveness and curtail the scientific breakthroughs that benefit society.
Leadership across the university is working to assess potential impacts at the college and school, lab, and principal investigator level. We will share more specific data as it is available.
While we work to reverse the announced reductions, we are engaging in thoughtful discussion with faculty and researchers with significant NIH portfolios. We encourage researchers to consider short-term measures for expenses and to avoid new hiring or spending for the moment. Please consult with your colleagues on shared resources and to think beyond the walls of your own labs to the people, activities, and equipment that might be shared to reduce our expenses.
Over the past couple of weeks, beyond this recent NIH announcement, we have received stoppages issued from other government agencies, including USAID. We at Cornell are working to understand, respond to, and mitigate the impact of these government actions.
We encourage you to continue consulting the Executive Orders website for the latest updates, including research-specific updates and FAQs. If you have questions about existing grants or in-flight proposals, please email [email protected] or [email protected].
Cornell is a world-class research institution dedicated to discovery and translating that discovery to benefit the public in all aspects of American life. Our foundational mission “to do the greatest good” is unwavering. We will respond to this NIH news and other federal developments with decisions aligned with our academic commitment and institutional values.”
