The future of other awards in the Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program remains unclear.
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The future of other awards in the Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access Program remains unclear.
June 24, 2025
June 24, 2025 – Last week, Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) was terminating another batch of grant contracts already in place, because the agency had determined they were “diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) focused awards.”
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“Putting American Farmers First means cutting the millions of dollars that are being wasted on woke DEI propaganda,” Rollins said in the press release.
The announcement did not provide details on the 145 grants terminated, such as who the recipients were or what kind of work they were funding, aside from citing three examples identified by single-line descriptors. Those examples added up to just over $3 million, although the USDA said the whole list totals “a maximum savings of $148.6 million.” On X, Rollins thanked the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for its help, and the office responded by citing two more examples, without details, that added up to less than $700,000.
The USDA did not respond to a request for full details on the terminated grants. However, Civil Eats’ reporting has found that one grant cited in the announcement was most likely a $2.5 million award to the nonprofit Agroecology Commons through the Land, Capital, and Market Access Program.
In March, the agency publicized its cancellation of a different small grant to the same group, based on the nonprofit’s support of BIPOC and queer farmers. This larger grant termination is a much bigger hit, since the organization was using the funds to purchase land and create a commons for up to 10 “BIPOC, LGBTQIA, and landless farmers,” and the money was supposed to fund more than half of the the group’s staffing capacity over the next three years.
“It’s a seismic blow, but at least we know and can start the next steps,” said Leah Atwood, Agroecology Commons’ director of partnerships.
In early June, the organization sued the USDA alongside other groups that lost funding. Now, their legal team is amending the complaint to reference the likely recent cancellation. (Agroecology Commons has not yet received an official termination letter, so as of right now, the legal team told Civil Eats that “the amended complaint will make reference to the Secretary’s stated intention to terminate a grant that resembles a grant Agroecology Commons has, and that officially terminating such a grant would be unlawful in the way that other terminations at issue in the suit are.”)
Agroecology Common’s leadership said that while Rollins framed the cancellation as a victory for American farmers, their project was contributing to a more diverse, resilient farm landscape through land access and farmer training at a time when young and new farmers are desperately needed.
The Land, Capital, and Market Access Program, created initially out of the Biden-era American Rescue Plan, was championed by the National Young Farmers Coalition. Its members are now pushing to get a permanent version authorized in the next farm bill, and the measure has bipartisan support.
Last week, when Rollins announced the terminations of contracts based on DEI criteria, the coalition posted an image on Instagram in response that read, “Hey USDA, Young, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ producers ARE American farmers.”
At this point, it is unclear whether other grants in the same program will also be canceled, given that all of them specify serving underserved groups, including Black, Indigenous, and immigrant farmers. As a result, the other awardees are left in limbo, said Amanda Koehler, the Young Farmers’ land policy associate director, leaving them fearful that their awards are next.
“The consequences of the funding freeze and uncertainty have already been devastating for LCM awardees and projects,” she said. The termination of this funding will further harm the livelihoods of young, BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and other underserved producers—and poses a serious threat to the future of our farm and food system.”
Koehler added that her last day at Young Farmers is this Friday, as the organization is cutting 15 staff positions “due to executive branch funding instability and dips in philanthropic giving.” (Link to this post.)
This post has been updated to reflect the exact status of Agroecology Commons’ grant award.
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