Farmer-Focused USDA Agencies Face Deep Cuts in Trump’s 2026 Budget Plan

In recently released budget documents, the Trump administration has proposed a nearly $7 billion reduction in USDA funding for 2026. Almost $1.2 billion would come from the department’s primary farmer-facing agencies.

USDA has described its Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) mission area as the “focal point for the nation’s farmers and ranchers and other stewards of private agricultural lands and non-industrial private forest lands.” FPAC houses Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Service, and Risk Management Agency (RMA). 

These agencies “implement programs designed to mitigate the significant risks of farming through crop insurance, conservation programs and technical assistance, and commodity, lending, and disaster programs,” USDA said. 

FSA, NRCS, and RMA — along with many of USDA’s other initiatives — would face major reductions under the 2026 budget request, as part of an effort to “safeguard our country from fiscal ruin,” according to USDA. 

According to the budget request, the three main farmer-facing agencies would see budget reductions ranging from $6 million to $800 million. Here are the details.

Farm Service Agency

“FSA supports the delivery of farm loans, commodity, conservation, disaster assistance, and related programs. FSA utilizes the Commodity Credit Corporation, which funds most of the USDA commodity, export, and conservation programs,” USDA outlined in the budget summary.

The budget request would decrease discretionary programs within FSA by $372 million, from $1,606 million to $1,234 million.

The largest change would be in the agency’s salary and expense costs, which would drop from $1,515 million to $1,186 million.

Natural Resources Conservation Service

“NRCS provides both technical and financial assistance to landowners and managers through farm bill programs for the benefit of farm or ranch, watershed, and community,” USDA said in the budget summary.

NRCS would take an $800 million hit to discretionary programs, from the 2025 enacted amount of $912 million down to $112 million.

Conservation operations funds within NRCS would decrease the most. The 2026 budget request for conservation operations is $112 million; the 2025 enacted amount is $896 million.

Risk Management Agency

“RMA provides agricultural producers with market-based risk management tools, primarily through federal crop insurance, to strengthen the economic stability of farmers and rural communities. Specifically, they manage the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation, which offers various crop insurance products. RMA also works with approved insurance providers to sell and service these policies,” USDA said in the budget summary. 

The funding request for RMA for 2026 is $67 million, down from the 2025 enacted amount of $73 million. The $6 million deficit would come from salary and expense costs.