By Ryan Hanrahan
Agri-Pulse’s Philip Brasher and Rebekah Alvey reported late last week that “President Donald Trump is proposing to slash non-defense spending by nearly 23% in a fiscal 2026 budget that recommends a $5 billion cut to USDA programs, including agricultural research, international food aid, conservation technical assistance to farmers, and rural development.”
“USDA’s budget would be reduced by more than 18% from existing levels. The budget proposal, released Friday, doesn’t cover mandatory spending programs at USDA such as commodity programs, crop insurance, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and school meals,” Brasher and Alvey reported. “While proposing to cut non-defense spending by $163 billion in FY26, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Make America Healthy Again initiative is a clear winner in the White House plan.”
“Kennedy would get $500 million to build on the work of the MAHA Commission, which Trump created in an executive order the same day as Kennedy’s confirmation,” Brasher and Alvey reported. “The funds will allow Kennedy to ‘tackle nutrition, physical activity, healthy lifestyles, over-reliance on medication and treatments, the effects of new technological habits, environmental impacts, and food and drug quality and safety’ across the agency.”
What are the Proposed USDA Cuts?
Reuters’ Timothy Gardner, Valerie Volcovici and Leah Douglas reported that “the budget, if passed, would have big impacts on farmers. Cuts to the U.S. Department of Agriculture budget would total more than $4.5 billion, with the largest cuts from conservation programs that pay farmers to remove land from crop production, rural development programs for water and housing, and research grants.”
“‘Trump wants to rip away funding to safeguard Americans’ health, protect our environment, and to help rural communities and our farmers thrive,’ said Senator Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate appropriations committee,” according to Gardner, Volcovici and Douglas’ reporting. “Murray said Trump’s plan was ‘very light on details.’ It would eliminate the McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program, Food for Progress and Food for Peace, three programs that send U.S. commodities abroad as food aid.”
Brasher and Alvey reported that “conservation technical assistance provided to farmers through USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service would be slashed by $754 million. The National Institute of Food and Agriculture, which funds agricultural research at land-grant universities and other institutions, would be cut by $602 million.”
“USDA Rural Development programs, including financing for community facilities and high-speed internet service, would be cut by $721 million,” Brasher and Alvey reported. “Just two areas of USDA would get modest funding increases; An additional $74 million would be provided for rental assistance grants, and the Food Safety Inspection Service, which oversees the safety of meat, poultry and egg production, would get an increase of $15 million. Some of those funds for FSIS could support cooperative agreements with states that complete their own equivalent inspections.”
What are the Other Proposed Cuts?
Gardner, Volcovici and Douglas reported that “the White House said the energy budget proposal cancels more than $15 billion in carbon capture and renewable energy funding from the bipartisan infrastructure law that former President Joe Biden, a Democrat, signed in 2021. It also proposes to cancel $6 billion from that law for EV chargers.”
“For the Environmental Protection Agency, Trump, a Republican, called for a nearly 55% cut compared to its enacted 2025 budget, reflecting his focus on slashing regulations and eliminating grants for programs and research on topics like climate change,” Gardner, Volcovici and Douglas reported. “Among cuts to EPA’s budget are $235 million to the Office of Research and Development, leaving it with $281 million to do research required by Congress and eliminating work to advance environmental justice.”
“The budget also slashes $1.3 billion in grants issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which it said focused on ‘climate-dominated research’ not aligned with the administration’s policies,” Gardner, Volcovici and Douglas reported. “It also slashes $209 million for some satellites and cancels contracts ‘for instruments designed primarily for unnecessary climate measurements rather than weather observations.'”
Ag Secretary Rollins Likely to Face Budget Questions this Week
Agri-Pulse’s Brasher, Alvey and Lydia Johnson reported Sunday that Agriculture Secretary Brooke “Rollins’ appearances before the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee on Tuesday and House Ag Appropriations Subcommittee follow the release of President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2026 budget that calls for an 18% cut to USDA programs.”
“Rollins is likely to get questioned about the spending cuts, which include reductions in ag research, rural development, food aid and conservation technical assistance, as well as the farm economy and USDA staffing and downsizing,” Brasher, Alvey and Johnson reported. “Rollins has said that USDA, which has yet to release the results of two rounds of buyouts, will release a plan this month to reorganize the department. The plan is expected to include moving some portions of the department to other agencies and relocating or laying off additional USDA staff.”
Gardner, Volcovici and Douglas reported that “the budget is meant to lay out an administration’s policies, and what lawmakers ultimately adopt often differs from the White House request.”
Source : illinois.edu