In the News
USDA Staffing Shortages Strain FSA and NRCS Services Across Rural America
WASHINGTON (DTN) — Farmers in Polk County, Iowa, still have a Farm Service Agency office to visit. But when they arrive, four out of five days, that office will be closed. Calls are rerouted and employees from other counties come in to staff the office.
Read More USDA Staffing Shortages Strain FSA and NRCS Services Across Rural America
STUDY | The Unfinished Farm Bill: First Reading of Proposed Senate Legislation by Jonathan Coppess
On June 23, 2026, Senator John Boozman (R-AR), chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry (ANF), released legislative text for the unfinished provisions of the traditional Farm Bill. Chairman Boozman is calling the legislation “Farm Bill 2.0” (Senate ANF, “Farm Bill 2.0” and Press Release, June 23, 2026). This article provides a first
Read More STUDY | The Unfinished Farm Bill: First Reading of Proposed Senate Legislation by Jonathan Coppess
Job cuts at federal soil conservation agency has farmers worried
Farmers are fighting cuts to a federal agency that’s been helping them improve their soil since the 1930s. The Natural Resources Conservation Service is another entity keeping farmers in business. The federal agency helps farmers protect soil and water. It has been around since the dust bowl in the 1930s. But nearly a quarter of
Read More Job cuts at federal soil conservation agency has farmers worried
Report: Iowa lost 17% of USDA staff in 2025, impact felt at farmer-facing offices
U.S. Department of Agriculture staffing cuts in 2025 have left county-level service offices understaffed, according to an analysis of federal data from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. The report found that Iowa lost nearly 19% of its Natural Resources Conservation Service, or NRCS, staff and 8% of its Farm Service Agency staff between January 2025
Read More Report: Iowa lost 17% of USDA staff in 2025, impact felt at farmer-facing offices
Oversubscription in EQIP, CSP increased in fiscal 2025, analysis finds.
Only about 24% of EQIP applications and 37% of CSP applications resulted in awarded contracts in fiscal year 2025, a drop from 43% and 54% the year before, according to an Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy analysis of USDA data. Conservation advocates say a Trump administration freeze on climate funding, increased applications, and NRCS
Read More Oversubscription in EQIP, CSP increased in fiscal 2025, analysis finds.
Trump Pledged a ‘Golden Age’ for Farmers. They Can’t Access Help.
Gabe Arveson, a farmer in Polk County, Minnesota, used to be able to easily contact his local Department of Agriculture service center when he needed help. Now he can’t. For farmers across the country, the Trump administration’s federal workforce cuts have resulted in unreturned voicemails and signs on locked office doors warning visitors of staffing
Read More Trump Pledged a ‘Golden Age’ for Farmers. They Can’t Access Help.
The agency that helps farmers protect the environment lost a third of its staff last year. And more cuts could be coming.
“For a brief shining moment, there was an NRCS representative in New Orleans,” she said. “He was just part of the community here, which was really special to have that as a representative. And he was also very proactive about reaching out to us when there was some funding available.” NRCS offices across the country,
Read More The agency that helps farmers protect the environment lost a third of its staff last year. And more cuts could be coming.
Under Trump, the Department of Agriculture Has Ditched Conservation and Climate Efforts
This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News. Amanda Koehler has spent the past decade working to help young and first-time farmers gain access to land—the single biggest obstacle for people who aspire to grow crops or raise animals but can’t afford the soaring cost of acreage.
Read More Under Trump, the Department of Agriculture Has Ditched Conservation and Climate Efforts
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