Iowa farms pay the price for Trump-Musk USDA cuts

Federal cuts are coming home to roost on Iowa farms. More than $11 million in funding that the USDA promised to Iowa’s local food system spoiled overnight, leaving farmers facing even greater unpredictability.

Seeds are sprouting in greenhouses. Meat processing dates are locked in at local lockers. Iowa farmers have been planning all winter for a growing season that’s now in jeopardy. 

The US Department Agriculture (USDA) announced this week that it’s frozen payments on already-signed contracts to help schools buy vegetables and meat from local farms, and help smaller farmers gain access to large wholesale contracts.   

The Iowa Department of Agriculture notified participants in the Local Food Purchasing Assistance (LFPA) and Local Food for Schools (LFS) programs that the USDA cut 2025 funding, as well as $11.3 million the federal government promised to build the future of the local food system. 

The Iowa Department of Agriculture’s Don McDowell told the Des Moines Register, “It should not come as a surprise that a program announced in October 2024 by executive action, rather than legislatively directed, won’t be continued past its original end date.”

Over the last three years, the program allocated $7 million to schools and food banks to purchase local foods. But that funding to fuel demand for local foods has now vanished, leaving farmers, food banks, and the organizations that support them scrambling to figure out what comes next. 

The USDA cuts are part of President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s chaotic efforts to slash federal funding, a haphazard process that has resulted in Iowans making choices based on promises that suddenly fall apart.

The USDA money passes through the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship to Amana’s Iowa Valley Resource, Conservation & Development, a nonprofit the state chose to administer the program across the state. Iowa Valley wrote in a release that it is now facing “unprecedented financial strain” and partial furloughs across the board. 

“It’s a slap in the face. It’s really devastating,” said Giselle Bruskewitz, the program director at Iowa Valley RC&D. “The 300 farmers who have been doing an incredible job proving the impact of these programs over the last three years have been planning the growing season around this investment coming in.”

Listen to the full conversation with Bruskewitz on Iowa Starting Line’s podcast Cornhole Champions. 

“You can’t just take the dairy cows out of production because the USDA says, ‘We’re not going to give you this money we promised you,'” Bruskewitz said.

The loss threatens more than just this year’s growing season. It undermines three years of relationship-building and infrastructure development that would help Iowa develop future-ready food supplies resilient to the kinds of supply chain shocks experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We need our communities to step up,” said Aaron Lehman, President of the Iowa Farmers Union. “These farms have been growing food for Iowa families, schools, and food banks. We can’t let the USDA’s decision undermine everything they’ve built.”