Tag: funding

USDA Begins Releasing Frozen REAP Funding

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| Sustainability

On January 20, 2025, President Trump’s executive order on American energy led to the freezing of projects funded by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), including stopped payments to recipients of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). More than $ 911 million in obligated funds through REAP have been frozen. On March 26, 2025, the USDA announced previously obligated REAP funds would be released. 

The Rural Energy for America Program (REAP)

REAP provides grants and loan guarantees to help farmers, ranchers, and rural small businesses invest in renewable energy systems and energy efficiency improvements. This includes things like installing solar panels, upgrading to energy-efficient equipment, or improving building insulation. Through these investments, REAP helps farmers lower energy costs, boosts rural economic development, and supports the transition to clean energy in agricultural and rural communities. …

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Yellowstone’s gateway town fears for its future amid Trump funding cuts

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| Pollution

On March 1, hundreds of people gathered in Gardiner, Montana, at the northern entrance to Yellowstone National Park. The crowd — which included residents from across the state and current and former public lands employees — was part of a nationwide protest against the layoffs of federal workers. 

Roughly 5 percent of National Park Service workers have been caught up in the sweeping layoffs carried out by Donald Trump’s administration and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. This isn’t counting the hundreds of others who are taking the “fork in the road” offer to resign from their positions. The staffing crisis facing national parks is felt not only within the federal workforce itself but also in gateway towns like Gardiner, where the economy depends heavily on Yellowstone. 

There, under the Roosevelt Arch — named for President Theodore Roosevelt, who laid …

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Comment: NSAC Responds to Government Funding Deal

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| Sustainability

For Immediate Release

Contact: Laura Zaks

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

press@sustainableagriculture.net

Comment: NSAC Responds to Government Funding Deal 

Washington, DC, March 15, 2025 – Today, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) reacted following Senate approval of the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 (H.R. 1968) on a vote of 54-46. Earlier this week, the House of Representatives approved the bill – which will fund the government through September 30, 2025 – on a vote of 217-213. The following statement is attributed to Mike Lavender, NSAC Policy Director.

“Today’s government funding deal locks in and deepens cuts that will have a direct line to farmer livelihoods and the economic well-being of their communities. The continuing resolution escalates cuts from the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2024 by slashing USDA’s conservation and research programs, undermining the real progress needed to bolster

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Release: NSAC Responds to Termination of Critical Local Food Funding, Envisions Future for Popular Program

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| Sustainability

For Immediate Release

Contact: Laura Zaks

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

press@sustainableagriculture.net

Release: NSAC Responds to Termination of Critical Local Food Funding, Envisions Future for Popular Program

Washington, DC, March 11, 2025 – Today, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) lamented the termination of previously announced funding for the Local Food for Schools and Child Care Cooperative Agreement (LFSCC) and Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement program (LFPA). On Friday, March 7, the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) notified States, Territories and Tribes of the termination of previously announced 2025 funding for LFSCC and LFPA, stating that it no longer effectuates the Department’s priorities.

“USDA’s decision to re-initiate reimbursements on signed LFPA and LFS contracts is a welcome development, yet the termination of the LFPA25 cooperative agreements misses a key opportunity to bolster opportunities for farmers seeking financial

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Release: NSAC Holds Briefing as USDA Funding Freeze and Layoffs Threaten Farmers and Communities Nationwide

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| Sustainability

For Immediate Release

Contact: Laura Zaks

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

press@sustainableagriculture.net

Release: NSAC Holds Briefing as USDA Funding Freeze and Layoffs Threaten Farmers and Communities Nationwide

Washington, DC, March 6, 2025 – Today, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), a coalition of more than 150 farm, food, conservation, and rural organizations, held a virtual briefing on how the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) funding freeze and employee layoffs are affecting farmers and ranchers. 

Panelists – who called on USDA to end the freeze and release funding on all signed contracts – included farmers from North Carolina, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and California. These farmers shared their own stories of how the ongoing federal funding freeze – in addition to significant layoffs at USDA – has created challenging and often dire circumstances for farmers and communities from coast to coast, threatening farm …

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Funding Freeze Impacts: Farmers and Organizations Speak Out

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| Sustainability

Since January, the Trump Administration has frozen vast swathes of federal spending under a series of Executive Orders, including at the United States Department of Agriculture. Hundreds of thousands of lawful, signed, active contracts and grants – supporting critical conservation payments, farmer technical assistance, sustainable agriculture research, market infrastructure, and so much more, and representing billions of dollars in federal funding – are frozen, which threatens farms, jobs, and livelihoods in communities nationwide. 

Federal courts have delivered ruling after ruling that the funding freeze must be lifted – but to date, the Administration has yet to act to unfreeze funding and with every passing week, the situation worsens: farmers and organizations are facing layoffs, work stoppages, and rising debt due to the federal government’s failure to honor its legally binding financial commitments.

Farmers, ranchers, and advocates are speaking out.  …

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Comment: NSAC Responds to “First Tranche” Release of Popular Conservation Funding

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| Sustainability

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Laura Zaks
National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition
press@sustainableagriculture.net
Tel. 347.563.6408

Comment: NSAC Responds to “First Tranche” Release of Popular Conservation Funding

Washington, DC, February 21, 2025 – Today, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) released the following statement attributable to Mike Lavender, NSAC Policy Director, in response to USDA’s announcement that it would release a fraction of paused conservation investments.

“While USDA fires its staff and deliberates whether or not to honor its own legal contracts, tens of thousands of farmers are being left in limbo. The ‘first tranche’ released this week represents roughly one percent of the IRA funding USDA guaranteed farmers through signed contracts from CSP and EQIP alone beginning in FY2023 – meaning that from coast to coast, countless farmers are waking up today still uncertain of how they’ll make ends meet or whether

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Release: Unlawful Federal Funding Freeze Causing Confusion and Harm on Farms and in Communities Nationwide

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| Sustainability

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Laura Zaks

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition

press@sustainableagriculture.net 

Tel. 347.563.6408

Release: Unlawful Federal Funding Freeze Causing Confusion and Harm on Farms and in Communities Nationwide 

Secretary of Agriculture nominee Brooke Rollins must quickly restore order and ensure USDA honors its legal commitments to farmers, communities

Washington, DC, February 7, 2025 – Today, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) expressed anger over the continued uncertainty and confusion borne by farmers and rural communities following weeks of mixed messages from the new Administration.

“During the past several weeks, we have heard directly from countless farmers and food system stakeholders who have been told, without explanation, that their grant or contract payments have been paused or that they cannot be reimbursed despite a signed lawful contract. Until USDA honors its commitments, farms and rural jobs will continue to be

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