Lawrencia Rogers, a 33-year-old farmer in eastern Iowa, began a two-year fellowship with the Iowa Valley Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) in March, receiving a plot of land, equipment and a living wage through a USDA‑funded program. Two and a half weeks after the fellowship started, the USDA canceled the program’s $2.5 million grant, citing wasteful spending and conflict with the administration’s policy against diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

The fellowship was part of the $300 million Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program created under the Biden administration to support underserved producers, including veterans and those with limited experience or capital. A federal judge later ordered the USDA to reinstate $127 million in grants that had been awarded to Iowa Valley RC&D and other organizations, but the cancellation had already halted the fellowship and delayed curriculum development.

RC&D executive director Jason Grimm said the abrupt cut left the organization “bounced back and forth,” while farmers such as Anna Pesek, who operates poultry, pig and flower farms, estimated the loss of the program reduced her farm’s revenue by about 10 percent and eliminated key buyers. James Nisly, a farmer who had secured a grant for refrigerated trucks under the USDA Resilient Food System Infrastructure program, described the fund freeze as “nerve‑racking” after three days of purchases, though the money was later unfrozen.

The USDA has reduced its workforce by about 20,000 employees nationwide since Trump’s return to office, including roughly 17 percent of its Iowa staff, and has ended several food‑purchase assistance programs, such as the Local Food Purchase Assistance and Local Food for Schools agreements, which had provided revenue for small producers. Tariffs imposed in 2023 and increased fertilizer and fuel costs linked to the war in Iran have further strained Iowa’s agricultural sector, which accounts for roughly one‑third of the state’s economic output.

Democrats see the farming challenges as a potential issue in the November midterm elections in Iowa, a Republican‑dominated state where they aim to win the open Senate seat, the governor’s office and several House districts. Republican incumbent Mariannette Miller‑Meeks, elected by a margin of about 800 votes, faces Democrat Christina Bohannan in a contest where farm policy is expected to be a prominent topic. USDA spokesperson, in a statement, said the department continues to deliver services and programs to farmers and rural communities without interruption.