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Recent budget proposals from the Trump administration for fiscal year (FY) 2026 include steep cuts to federal agricultural grants, funding, and the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) budget

Proposed FY 2026 budget cuts

• Overall USDA reduction: The Trump administration has proposed a roughly 18% cut, or nearly $7 billion, to the USDA's discretionary funding for FY 2026, dropping the total to $23 billion.
• Congressional response: While budget requests are often amended by Congress, the Republican-led House Appropriations Committee passed its own FY 2026 spending bill that would cut agriculture funding by 4%, or $1 billion, compared to the previous year. In contrast, the Senate's version of the bill passed with bipartisan support and rejects many of the deep cuts, maintaining current funding for several programs.
• Targeted program reductions: The proposed cuts target many areas, including:
  • Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS): Proposed cuts would reduce this agency's funding from $912 million to just $112 million, an $800 million decrease. Conservation operations would bear the brunt of the reduction.
  • Farm Service Agency (FSA): The budget request would cut FSA's discretionary programs by $372 million, affecting farm loans, disaster assistance, and conservation programs.
    • Agricultural Research: Deep cuts are proposed for the USDA's research arms, including the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), which supports university research, and the in-house Agricultural Research Service (ARS).
    • Rural Development: Programs providing loans and grants for rural infrastructure, such as high-speed internet, face significant reductions.
    • Nutrition Programs: Large cuts are included for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which advocates warn could jeopardize food assistance for low-income families.
    • Elimination of Programs: The request would eliminate the McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program, Food for Progress, and Food for Peace, which provide U.S. commodities for international food aid. 

Impact of the 2025 government shutdown

As of October 2025, a federal government shutdown is directly impacting USDA services and halting grants. 

• Furloughed employees: The Farm Service Agency (FSA) has furloughed the majority of its staff and stopped processing new loans and payments for commodity and disaster assistance programs.
• Conservation frozen: The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has also furloughed almost all of its staff, effectively freezing conservation programs.
• Service disruptions: Essential food safety operations continue, but nearly all research activities have been paused, and many grant and communication functions have ceased. 

Additional related developments

• End of "Climate-Smart" funding: In July 2025, the USDA abruptly canceled the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities funding, calling the initiative a "green new scam".
• Action on solar panels: In August 2025, the USDA announced it would no longer use taxpayer dollars to fund solar projects on prime American farmland.
• Ad-hoc disaster aid: While other funding is being cut, the USDA did issue billions in ad-hoc disaster relief payments in 2025, primarily using funds from the American Relief Act of 2025. These payments help offset economic losses but may not be a long-term replacement for standard programs.