Pie Charts Explain Scale of Frozen USDA Grant Funding for Farmers

After open concern from farmers and grant recipients about the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s funding freeze, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced the release of $20 million in funds granted through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Thursday. Rollins said it was the first of a series of “tranches” of released funding and that “additional announcements are forthcoming” as a review of IRA funding continues. 

Funding was released for farmers with contracts from the Environmental Quality Incentive Program, the Conservation Stewardship Program, and the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program — which all fall under the National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). 

Farm Group Reactions

The news was greeted positively by some farmer-led organizations. Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF), said he spoke with Rollins and relayed concerns from farmers in the organization about missing funds. 

“Farm Bureau appreciates the decision by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to release funds for conservation program contracts that USDA entered into with farmers and ranchers. The freezing of funds created uncertainty for farm families who had already invested in improvements to their land after receiving a financial commitment from the federal government,” Duvall said in a release. 

The National Farmers Union (NFU) and president Rod Larew also reacted to the news, calling it a “positive first step” for farmers while acknowledging the uncertainty caused by the freeze and massive staff layoffs at USDA.

“America’s family farmers and ranchers are facing a year of economic uncertainty, exacerbated by the uncertainty of the administration’s pause on federal funding and staff dismissals. Farmers are now making business decisions for the coming year and can’t wait much longer. We urge USDA to quickly complete its review, release all remaining funds, and ensure continuity in these essential programs,” Larew said. 

Remaining Funds Pending Reviews

The release of all remaining funds is still pending reviews, and Rollins said the intent of the reviews is to weed out funding awarded by the Biden administration that the new USDA secretary said “had nothing to do with agriculture.”

According to an October 2024 announcement by NRCS, the service planned to spend $5.7 billion in IRA-funded conservation grants to farmers in the 2025 calendar year. USDA’s $20 million release represents 0.35% of this announced budget. Courts have ordered the Trump administration to release all government grant funds that were frozen across multiple organizations, but farmers across the country have been left waiting on their promised payments. The IRA funding, labeled “supplemental” spending, accounts for 54% of the NRCS annual budget.

Which programs are still waiting on funds? Let’s take a closer look through USDA’s 2025 Budget Summary and the IRA Supplemental Funding allotted to notable NRCS programs.

Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP)

USDA describes the EQIP as farmers receiving “technical and financial assistance through EQIP to address serious natural resource challenges (such as soil erosion, air quality, water quality and quantity, and the sustainability of fish and wildlife habitat) that impact soil, water, and related natural resources, including grazing lands, wetlands, and wildlife habitat.”

USDA’s 2025 budget allotted $2.83 billion in funds to EQIP through grants authorized by the IRA.

Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP)

The CSP is described by USDA as allowing farmers to “undertake new conservation activities to build upon existing conservation activities.” The passage of the IRA in 2022 granted an additional $3.25 billion in grant money to the CSP, to be released between 2023 and 2031.

USDA’s 2025 budget allotted $943 million in grant money for the program through IRA funding. 

Agricultural Conservation Easement Program (ACEP)

The ACEP is a two-pronged program which USDA describes as containing “(1) agricultural land easements, under which NRCS assists eligible entities to protect agricultural land by limiting non-agricultural land uses; and (2) wetland reserve easements, under which NRCS provides technical and financial assistance to landowners to restore, protect, and enhance wetlands through the purchase of wetlands reserve easements.”

In its 2025 budget summary, ACEP was allotted $472 million in IRA funding for farmer grants.

Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP)

Notably, this was left off of the list of NRCS programs to get grant money released Thursday. USDA describes the RCPP as a way for producers to “receive technical and financial assistance while NRCS and its partners help producers install and maintain conservation activities. These projects may focus on water quality and quantity, soil erosion, wildlife habitat, drought mitigation, flood control, and other regional priorities.”

Partners of the program include producer associations, State or local governments, Native Tribes, non-governmental organizations, and institutions of higher education.

USDA allocated $1.41 billion in IRA funding for 2025 RCPP grants.