New York Farmers Continue to Wait on Frozen USDA Funds

Nearly a month after a judge ordered President Donald Trump to halt his pause on funding for some environmental programs, farmers in New York say they continue to wait on frozen funds that the government owes them.

At Stronghaven Farm in Tioga County, owner Craig Strong recently installed a new grain dryer to turn harvested corn and soybeans into grain for animal feed. The tall metal machine towers three stories high, connected through pipes to grain storage bins, which are emptied into trucks. The new dryer doesn’t need as much propane to run, which means it’s more environmentally friendly — and it works better.

“Our old dryer was 20 years old and too small when we put it in,” Strong said. “The new dryer is three times faster than the old one and a lot more efficient.”

The new grain dryer cost around $240,000. Strong said he expected to get 50% of that money back through a grant program administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

That grant, from the Rural Energy for America Program, or REAP, is meant to fund projects in rural communities and on farms that reduce the use of fossil fuels through installing energy-saving upgrades or renewable resources, like solar panels.

But now, Strong is uncertain if he’ll get paid. Though the federal government has released other USDA funding in recent days, REAP and several other programs remain frozen.

“We had all the paperwork submitted on time, and they said that the money would be paid out tomorrow,” said Strong. But the next day, he said, “We found out that it wasn’t getting paid.”

In January, Trump issued an executive order pausing funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, a key pillar of the Biden administration that provides money for environmental-related projects. A federal judge ordered the administration temporarily lift the pause, but the government is still withholding some of those funds.

REAP is one of several IRA-funded programs administered by the USDA. Last week, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the department would release $20 million for some paused programs, but the majority of IRA funding remains under review, she said, including REAP.

“Unfortunately, the Biden administration rushed out hundreds of millions of dollars of IRA funding that was supposed to be distributed over eight years,” Rollins said in a statement. “It is clear that some of this funding went to programs that had nothing to do with agriculture—that is why we are still reviewing.”

Data shows at least 150 other farms and organizations in New York were supposed to get funding from the REAP program, totaling more than $75 million across the state. Some recipients got their money before the freeze, but advocates say many are still waiting to get paid back for money they’ve already spent.

“The pause is indiscriminately impacting countless farmers,” said Mike Lavender, policy director of the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition. “There’s not only the potential for economic hardship, there’s the real possibility of farm loss.”

For many farmers, it remains unclear when or if funds will ever become available, said Hannah Smith-Brubaker, executive director of Pasa Sustainable Agriculture, in a statement. She added that the organization, which works with farmers in New York and Pennsylvania, worries that the frozen funds could cause food prices to rise and production costs to increase.

“These funds are not abstract numbers on a ledger—they are commitments farmers rely on to make critical business decisions,” said Smith-Brubaker in the statement. “The ripple effects will impact not just farms, but rural jobs, suppliers, and entire local food systems and communities.”

In the meantime, work continues for Craig Strong on Stronghaven Farm. He said his farm will survive even if the government doesn’t pay him the grant money. But he hopes the freeze and the accompanying uncertainty ends soon.

“I would hope that they would take care of the small businesses and all of the farmers,” said Strong. “There’s not a lot of us left to feed the world.”

Story by Rebecca Redelmeier/WSKG/New York Public News Network

Image: Craig Strong (left) and his son, Adam Strong, expected the federal government to reimburse them for half the cost of a new grain dryer on their farm. But the funds have been frozen for nearly a month. (Credit: Rebecca Redelmeier / WSKG)