Farmers put plans, investments on hold under Trump USDA spending freeze

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Reuters

March 10, 2025 11:31 AM EDT Updated an hour ago


CHICAGO/WASHINGTON, March 10 - Nate Powell-Palm, an organic farmer outside Belgrade, Montana, was relying on a $648,000 grant from USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service to help build a feed mill - an economic lifeline for about 150 area organic grain farmers.

But construction is on hold following the Trump Administration's freeze on some agricultural grants and loans as it conducts a broad review of federal spending.

Now, about 500 tons of baled alfalfa sits untouched in stacks in his fields, and a bill from a Colorado equipment manufacturer is past due. Last week, he traveled with a group of farmers to Washington, D.C. to meet with lawmakers and try to get their frozen USDA grant funding released.

Farmers and food organizations across the country are cutting staff, halting investments and missing key funding amid a USDA freeze on a broad swath of grants, more than two dozen farmers and agricultural support groups in seven states told Reuters. All this comes as Trump has imposed new tariffs on goods from Canada, Mexico and China, sparking trade wars with the biggest buyers of U.S. farm products.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/farmers-put-plans-investments-hold-under-trump-usda-spending-freeze-2025-03-10/

[IronLionZion]

1. The plan is for independent farmers to go under

and be bought out by big corporate farms.

[Prairie Gates]

4. Big corporate farms are not profitable either without giant subsidies

You cannot sustain food production at the scale needed for modern societies without planning and subsidies. The capitalist ideologues are getting high on their own supply and it's going to lead to food shortages in the US.

[IronLionZion]

5. They have lobbyists to get them subsidies

they'll bribe enough Republicans to get what they need.

[durablend]

2. Welp.

If only they could have prevented it.

Anyhow......

[Prairie Gates]

3. Trump's idiotic economic ideas are going to lead to food shortages

[RockRaven]

6. Gee, if only there had been a way to avoid this...

(TCF's vote share in farming communities across all states was reported out at 78%)

[bmichaelh]

7. Trump is a sociopathic liar

I expect many of these farmers voted for Trump.

Did they not realize you can not trust a sociopathic liar?

A sociopathic liar tells you what he thinks you want to hear.

There is a story that some of the farmers in NC are still waiting for payments from USDA.

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-farmers-2671299429/

[twodogsbarking]

8. Is this a set-up to ignore the real problems and hand out billions of dollars?

My sources say "yes".
source: magic 8 ball. It really works.