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Frozen USDA funds hurting all levels of ag

The director of the Gardner Agricultural Policy Program at the University of Illinois says the Trump administration’s freezing of USDA funding is having far reaching consequences.

Jonathan Coppess tells Brownfield, “These are duly appropriated, constitutionally appropriated funds by Congress.”  He says, “The federal courts have been telling the administration to unfreeze them.  We’re still waiting to see exactly how that plays out.  That’s a tough level of uncertainty.”

He says testimony at a recent Illinois General Assembly hearing on the defunding of the Local Food Purchase Agreement highlighted the local impact of the funds.

“Really just some tough stories and reminders of some of the incredible work that goes on on the ground, helping people find food, helping new farmers get started,” he says.

In addition, Coppess says questions remain for farmers that have accessed the $18 billion in Inflation Reduction Act conservation funding.

“If those are not fulfilled, then that’s a breach of the contract.”  He says, “Those are farmers oftentimes that invest their own money in expectation of reimbursement out of the contract. So, it’s a double loss for that farmer.”

He says the move also hurts producers that were hoping to access the millions of dollars in IRA funding still allocated, but now frozen, in each state. 

An interactive map of remaining IRA funding can be found HERE.

AUDIO: Jonathan Coppess – University of Illinois