By P.J. HuffstutterCHICAGO (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Agriculture is poised to disburse roughly $20 million in funds for contracts that had been held in limbo due to the Trump administration’s efforts to revamp the federal government, the agency disclosed on Thursday evening. The amount earmarked constitutes a minuscule portion of the program funding that the USDA had put on hold following the White House’s broad suspension of federal loans and grants last month. Despite the administration revoking the memorandum that enforced the freeze and despite it being halted by the court, a U.S. judge has indicated that the government is still withholding funds.Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced that the released funds will be allocated to fulfill contracts previously made directly with farmers, as stated on the USDA’s official website. The USDA is specifically unfreezing $20 million in contracts for the Environmental Quality Incentive Program, the Conservation Stewardship Program, and the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, according to the agency’s announcement. Some of the frozen funds are associated with environmental conservation initiatives financed under former President Joe Biden’s landmark climate legislation, the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which envisaged around $19.5 billion in funding for agricultural programs over a decade.In the statement, Rollins underscored that the agency is currently examining IRA funding that had been disbursed during the Biden administration’s tenure. The review of grants and contracts supported by the IRA is part of the USDA’s comprehensive evaluation of over 400 programs under its purview. The Trump administration had assured that funding for programs aiding farmers would remain unaffected by the government’s restructuring; however, the repercussions have been immediate and widespread, resulting in delays in financial aid for ranchers to repair cattle watering systems and assisting corn farmers in planting cover crops to mitigate wind erosion.(Reporting by P.J. Huffstutter; Editing by Sandra Maler and Tom Hogue)
