Iowa Farmers Fear the Impact Forthcoming USDA Cuts Could Cause

By Cami Koons

Farmers on a virtual town hall with Iowa Farmers Union talked Thursday about the strong partnership they have had with USDA, and the fears they have about the programs being cut in federal budgets. 

Programs from USDA have helped farmers to diversify their operations, find consistent markets, and implement practices that protect water quality and build soil health, though some could be trimmed or cut by congressional budgets. 

According to a Politico analysis of the president’s budget proposal, USDA could see a near $7 billion budget reduction for fiscal year 2026, depending on how closely U.S. lawmakers follow the proposal. The same analysis noted significant cuts to Farm Service Agency, Natural Resources Conservation Service and Rural Development.

Seth Watkins of Pinhook Farm near Clarinda said he has tried to put himself “in the other person’s shoes” to understand the federal budget cuts and said he “appreciate(s)” that elected officials are working to trim down the nation’s $36.6 trillion in debt. 

“I guess what worries me, speaking from my experience as a farmer, is I don’t want to see us be … a penny wise and a pound foolish,” Watkins said. 

He said it’s especially challenging for him to see the programs that protect water or create opportunities for young farmers on the chopping block. 

Watkins, who raises cattle, sheep and honey bees, said many of the USDA agencies provide technical support to farmers in addition to funding opportunities. 

Watkins said the Natural Resources Conservation Service especially was already “operating on the shoestring” budget, which has made it difficult to get help with engineering a pond or waterway, for example, that will stand up to the significant weather events that have become the norm. 

“As farmers, we’re practical — we want to do the right thing, but we need that help,” Watkins said.

Ellen Walsh-Rosmann runs Rosmann Family Farms near Harlan with her husband and in-laws, where they raise cattle and hogs, and “grain and such.” 

Walsh-Rosmann said at the town hall that she previously utilized the Local Food for Schools and Local Food Purchase Assistance programs with USDA to “deliver pallets” worth of food products to food hubs, which were then distributed to local schools and food banks. 

She said this program offered “guaranteed sales” and a scalable distribution model, as opposed to selling beef “a pound at a time” via a direct-to-consumer model. 

The programs, which were established during the pandemic under the Commodity Credit Corporation, were canceled in March and farmers and institutions lost an estimated $11.3 million in federal funding for the purchase of local foods in 2025. 

Walsh-Rosmann said the program was a “lot easier” for her operation, as compared to direct sales, and also meant that food banks and schools were able to serve her organic beef. 

“It was just really disheartening, because there was nothing wrong,” Walsh-Rosmann said of the program. “We also know that for every dollar that was spent in that program, $4 were going back into our local economies, which you can’t say that about many government subsidized programs.” 

The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship piloted a similar program to help schools and food banks purchase local food. 

The Legislature extended the Choose Iowa purchasing program for food banks, but the school program is still in the pilot phase.

Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig said Wednesday at the Iowa Hunger Summit he hoped to expand the number of schools participating in the pilot for the upcoming year.

Another farmer on the town hall call Thursday said USDA offices need to be funded and staffed to adequately support young farmers who might have a business model “different than what’s common in the county.” 

Anna Hankins of Over the Moon Farm in Coggon said because the barriers to entry for young farmers, like herself, are “really, really high,” many young farmers are turning to niche markets or specialty crops they can grow with fewer resources and smaller plots of land. 

Hankins said she has been able to use the same USDA programs her more traditional neighbors might be using, but in a way that works for her meat and cut flower operation. 

“It takes more legwork, and it’s really, really important for beginning farmers like myself and others that come after us to make sure that we have a USDA that is well funded, that has enough support in our local offices to make it possible for beginning farmers like myself,” Hankins said. 

The farmers on the call said they regularly reach out to their elected representatives about these issues, and encourage their neighbors to as well, as lawmakers finalize budgets for the year. 

“Farmers really rely on a robust, honest, pragmatic partnership, a farmer-public partnership to make sure that our family farms can thrive, to make sure that we can implement practices that contribute to a healthy landscape, and to thriving rural communities,” Aaron Lehman Iowa Farmers Union President said in closing. “Without that partnership, it will only lead to greater consolidation, fewer family farms, and deteriorating local communities.”

Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: [email protected]. Follow Iowa Capital Dispatch on Facebook and Twitter.