Farms.com Home   Ag Industry News

Farmers targeted in USDA scam calls

Farmers targeted in USDA scam calls

Producers are offered grant money from a non-existent program

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

Scammers are calling farmers and promoting fake USDA grant money in the hopes of receiving sensitive banking information.

Producers in Wisconsin have received calls that offer grants from the USDA’s Federal Crop Registration Program, which doesn’t exist.

The scammers leave messages with a phone number and encourage growers to call back within three days to receive the grant.

“If you receive this message, take no further action,” Jerad Albracht, communications specialist with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, said in a March 30 statement. “The USDA will not call you and offer grant money.”

Scammers generally follow a script, he added.

They will offer congratulations for eligibility before asking for checking account information, so they can “deposit your grant directly into your account” or so you can pay a one-time “processing fee.”

“You will never see the grant they promise; they will disappear with your money,” he said in the statement.

While only some farmers have come forward, officials wanted to be proactive in their approach.

“We’ve received a few reports from farmers receiving these kinds of calls,” Michelle Reinen, director with the Bureau of Consumer Protection, told Farms.com today. “This is just the tipping point but we wanted to get the word out there because many farmers won’t report getting these calls.”

Farms.com has reached out to other state agricultural departments to determine if other producers have received similar messages. Farms.com has also contacted the USDA for information on how its staff are managing the situation.

Consider these helpful tips for identifying government grant scams.


Trending Video

US “Flash Drought” Worst in 133-160 Years + Disease taking a Bite out of US 2025 Corn/Soybean Crops

Video: US “Flash Drought” Worst in 133-160 Years + Disease taking a Bite out of US 2025 Corn/Soybean Crops


A dry August and a “flash drought” in the ECB (Eastern Corn Belt) the driest top 10 to 15 years in 150 to 160 years (Ohio the driest in 133 years) plus disease is taking a bite out of the 2025 U.S. corn and soybean crops.
It's going to be an early harvest. This could be the start of the 89-year drought cycle that may have been delayed until 2026 as La Nina maybe returning.
The USDA September crop report is all about record corn ears and record soybean counts but the October USDA crop report will be about pod and ear weights.
Stats Canada reported higher forecasts for the 2025 Canadian Prairies all wheat and canola crops vs. last year based on satellite imagery but are they overestimating production?
The 2025 Great ON Yield Tour and Quebec crop tours are projecting corn and soybean crops below the 10-year average.
China's Vice Commerce Ministry Li Chenggang visits Washington this week as we continue to connect the dots is a positive sign towards a China/U.S. trade deal. But will U.S. farmers have a winter without China as they buy more soybeans from Uruguay/Argentina? U.S. Northern Plain soybean farmers are seeing red with flat prices at $8.97/bu!
U.S. corn exports on record pace up 99% vs. last year.
Fund short covering continues in corn futures bottom is in!