'No one is calling me back': Trump USDA funding freeze causing farmers major hardship

21 February

Mondovi, WI USA September 28, 2020 Farmer John with his John Deere 3020 Tractor holding out a Trump Banner and also an American Flag on the tractor.

Donald Trump generally performed well among farmers in the 2024 election, winning Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Indiana and other farming states. But now that President Trump is back in the White House, Democrats are warning that his policies will hurt farmers badly — including aggressive tariffs and mass deportations.

Another problem that farmers are facing during Trump's second presidency, according to the Washington Post, is a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) funding freeze.

Post reporters Daniel Wu and Gaya Gupta, in an article published on February 20, explain, "The Post spoke with farmers and farm organizations in 10 states who had contacted their congressional delegations about the USDA funding freeze. Some farmers from conservative-leaning districts said they have received no reply. Others said they were told that their representatives supported the (Trump) Administration's decision — and some representatives appeared to suggest that Trump's funding freeze was not affecting farmers at all. A federal judge, last week, ordered the Agriculture Department to release all withheld funds, but the farmers The Post spoke to said they had not yet received any of that money."

One of the farmers the Post interviewed was Iowa-based Shanon Jamison, who specializes in corn and soybeans. In late January, according to Wu and Gupta, Jamison found out "that her $69,000 federal reimbursement for a cover crop to boost soil health and slow erosion was frozen due to an executive order from President Donald Trump."

Wu and Gupta report, "Some of those farmers have been stymied by members of Congress backing Trump. In Maryland, Laura Beth Resnick contacted Rep. Andy Harris (R) to make sure the USDA would fulfill a contract to help fund the installation of solar panels on her flower farm in Harford County…. Hoppy Henton, who farms corn, soybeans, wheat and cattle in Woodford County, Kentucky, said he had several USDA-funded projects underway on his farm, including erecting new fencing and managing a pasture rotation. He said he is owed more than $20,000, which he has yet to receive."

According to Wu and Gupta, Henton "made several attempts to contact Rep. Andy Barr (R) and his staff about the issue."

Henton told the Post, "No one is calling me back….. The silence is deafening."

Read the full Washington Post article at this link (subscription required).

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