Funding freezes and staff cuts pull the rug out from under farmers

Yahoo

14-03-2025

South Dakota surpassed 7 million acres enrolled in the Conservation Stewardship Program when Reed Petersek enrolled his Lyman County land in 2017. The program, administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, helps landowners build on existing conservation efforts and do more. (Courtesy of USDA-NRCS/Flickr)
What happens in Washington, D.C., can oftentimes feel far away, disconnected from everyday life in the rest of the country. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's recent efforts to streamline the federal government have, and will continue to have, unintended consequences for farmers' and ranchers' efforts to conserve water, soil and wildlife habitat if cuts continue with a hatchet instead of a scalpel.
Freezing conservation funds promised to farmers, many of whom have already spent the money, and slashing Natural Resources Conservation Service staff are only exacerbating the uncertainty farmers feel every year during planting. Efforts to make government more efficient and responsive to local needs may be pulling the rug out from America's farmers when certainty is what's needed most.
For more about the impact of mass federal firings, funding freezes and grant cancellations in South Dakota, see Searchlight's DOGE in SD page.
U.S. agriculture is already dealing with record costs, labor concerns and an uneasy global trading market. The freeze on conservation funding, coupled with NRCS staffing cuts, is not just an inconvenience; it's a threat to the economic viability of American farms and ranches, our communities, and the stewardship of land and prairies we depend on.
This funding pause is preventing tens of millions of dollars from being spent in South Dakota. In 2022, Congress invested nearly $20 billion into USDA's voluntary, incentive-based, private lands conservation programs at NRCS nationwide. The funding began to hit the ground in 2023, and since then, over $29 million have been promised to South Dakotan producers, allowing farmers and ranchers to adopt conservation practices on over 600,000 acres.
Many of these producers have already spent thousands of dollars of their own money to implement practices like planting cover crops, implementing rotational grazing and installing new irrigation systems — all with the understanding that they would be reimbursed in a timely manner, as usual. USDA's freeze means that many of those farmers are now in limbo, hoping they will receive the reimbursement they are contractually owed.
News is starting to trickle out that some pots of funding are starting to be unfrozen. Although this is a good start, there is still great uncertainty about which funding pots and contracts are being unfrozen. It goes without saying that existing contracts should be honored, at a minimum, and producers should be provided with certainty about the availability of new funding for this year.
Conservation programs don't just benefit farmers; they have broader economic impacts. When farmers engage in conservation practices, they're not only improving their land for future generations, but they're also investing in their communities. Conservation practices often result in better water quality, enhanced wildlife habitats and improved soil health. These improvements boost local economies by ensuring that farms can operate profitably over the long haul and contribute to the broader rural economy.
Another consequence of the freeze is its impact on conservation easement funds that we, at Northern Prairies Land Trust, use to facilitate land protections for farmers and ranchers in South Dakota and Nebraska. Easement funds are often used to protect and restore prairies and grasslands — the fastest disappearing ecosystem in the world. Grasslands, threatened by urban sprawl, conversion to other uses, and a changing climate, are critical as duck and waterfowl breeding habitat, for water filtration, and as migration corridors for big game and other wildlife. The uncertainty caused by the funding freeze is slowing the conservation of prairies at a time when they need it most.
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Beyond the funding freeze, USDA's Farm Service Agency and NRCS have local offices here in South Dakota that are facing significant staffing reductions, which will only exacerbate these challenges. NRCS and FSA have locally based staff who administer USDA programs, execute contracts and help farmers address natural resource concerns on their farms. They help farmers and ranchers apply for financial assistance, provide technical assistance and guide them on best practices for land management and conservation. USDA funding delivered by NRCS and FSA staff provides significant support to farmers in South Dakota and across the country, and many of these staff have built strong, trusted relationships with producers and conservation groups in the state.
Unfortunately, plans to further reduce staff and even close down some of these offices will leave farmers and ranchers unsure about who to turn to when they have questions about a program, natural resource concern, or reimbursement for money they've already spent. Delays will prevent landowners from accessing the technical support they need to implement effective conservation practices now, while they are planning for the whole year.
Farmers are already on the frontlines of extreme weather, which has been increasing in frequency and severity for years. Now, USDA's funding freeze and staffing cuts are making their job even harder. It's time to put political divides aside and follow through for our South Dakota farmers and ranchers.