U.S. Farmers Sue Trump Administration for Withheld IRA Funds

By Leah Douglas

March 13 (Reuters) – Several U.S. farmers and non-profit organizations filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Thursday, arguing it is illegally withholding Department of Agriculture grants funded by the Inflation Reduction Act.

The USDA has frozen a broad swath of grants as it conducts an agency-wide spending review, including money for conservation and other farm programs funded by the IRA.

The five farmers involved in the suit were awarded grants from a USDA Rural Energy for America Program to install solar panels. The three non-profits involved were awarded Forest Service grants.

The farmers have entered into contracts with solar installers and incurred costs they worry will not be recoverable if the grants are not unfrozen, the complaint says.

The nonprofit groups have had to furlough or lay off staff or cut programs as a result of the freeze, it says.

“This is not government efficiency. It is thoughtless waste that inflicts unwarranted financial pain on small farmers and organizations trying to improve their communities,” said Hana Vizcarra, senior attorney at Earthjustice, which is representing the plaintiffs, in a statement.

The USDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The IRA included $18 billion in funding for USDA conservation programs, and the funding primarily benefits farmers in Republican-leaning states.

A recent analysis by the University of Illinois found that $12.5 billion of the funds have not been released and that six states – Arkansas, California, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi and Texas – stand to lose more than $400 million each if the money is not allocated.

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has said that his agency is beginning to unfreeze IRA grants to farmers, but the agency has not provided details of how much money has been released or on what timetable.

The Trump administration issued an executive order freezing disbursement of IRA funds in January, but said the freeze only applied to clean energy projects.

The administration has been blocked by two judges from broad federal spending freezes.

(Reporting by Leah Douglas; Editing by Diane Craft and Mark Porter)