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Freezing of funds, revamping of programs and cuts to staffing that have come with the new Trump administration continue to bring questions in the farm community and those who serve them.

For soil and water conservation district staff like those serving East Otter Tail and Wadena counties in central Minnesota, perhaps the biggest problem created by the abrupt changes is a loss of trust as farmers who signed contracts under a Biden-era Climate-Smart Agriculture pilot program in 2024 and are now left with projects in place and promised funds frozen.

The was implemented by in Minnesota and administered by Virginia Tech. It was to pay out $57 million in 2024 and 2025 to roughly 4,000 producers in Arkansas, Minnesota, North Dakota and Virginia.

In Minnesota, it included eight counties and aimed at promoting the production and marketing of agricultural commodities that reduce greenhouse gas emissions or sequester carbon. It involved providing funds to partners to implement projects that develop markets for these commodities. Some of those projects include reduced tillage, fertilizer reduction, cover cropping, planting for soil carbon sequestration and other soil health practices.

That program was both canceled and rebranded in April in an announcement made by U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. The cancellation came because 鈥渢he majority of these projects had sky-high administration fees which in many instances provided less than half of the federal funding directly to farmers.鈥�

Minnesota counties involved in a Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities pilot project enjoyed a strong response to a request for applications in summer 2024.

East Otter Tail County had 92 applications, and neighboring Wadena County had 21. Of those in East Otter Tail County, 76 projects were selected, including about 8,724 acres. Another 14 projects and 1,790 acres were selected in Wadena County. Producers were to be funded either $100 an acre or $100 per animal unit and receive 50% of the payment upfront, 25% after implementation and verification, and 25% after final reporting.

鈥淭hat would have amounted to a little over a million dollars of payments coming in at that $100-an-acre payment rate,鈥� said Darren Newville, district manager of East Otter Tail and Wadena County Soil and Water Conservation Districts.

Michael Johnson / Agweek

At the time of enrollment, some producers in this region said it would be silly not to apply for the program, as it would help cover the costs of some projects they wanted to implement anyway. Unfortunately, a funding freeze means the producers who signed contracts and implemented the practices have not been paid yet.

On April 14, the USDA informed Virginia Tech that the program would proceed under a new name, Advancing Markets for Producers. SWCDs were told that the funding would come through as long as producers remained eligible for the payments.

鈥淯SDA will honor all eligible expenses incurred prior to April 13, 2025,鈥� the USDA news release said.

鈥淣one of our producers have received payments yet,鈥� Newville said on May 9.

The most common practice that farmers chose to implement in this region was adding cover crops to their acres. Some others focused on nutrient management or haying and grazing projects.

Steve Inwards, a farmer near Parkers Prairie, Minnesota, utilized funds to introduce cover crops. He鈥檚 been experimenting with cover crops and less tillage with varied success as the fourth generation on that farm.

Michael Johnson / Agweek

He said he鈥檚 not one to take government assistance lightly. After hearing that consumers found value in practices that improve soil health, he was willing to devote more acres, time and costs to that effort, with the promise of a government payment. He added that to accept funds, farmers need to do the work purposely, documenting what is done in order to quantify the value.

Having tried some of this work in the past, Inwards knows that farmers don鈥檛 always see a return on their investment, which adds risk on top of risk on top of risk.

鈥淢y wife and I always figure, if you鈥檙e farming, you don鈥檛 need to go to Vegas. There鈥檚 enough gambling right here,鈥� Inwards said.

In these lean years, there is not much money to gamble with. Like other farmers who did this work, he鈥檚 not been paid for the cover crop investment, and the current price of his crops doesn鈥檛 make it appear that all that much value is placed on the commodities he can grow here.

Michael Johnson / Agweek

Inwards said he鈥檚 understanding of the freezing of some funds by the Trump administration, as he has seen money poured into certain areas and withheld from others, such as education, for many years. On the farming side, it鈥檚 been a roller-coaster ride for years.

鈥淚鈥檓 not complaining,鈥� Inwards said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 part of the management and lifestyle of a small family farm. If you don鈥檛 want a risk and be involved in those things, this is probably not for you.鈥�

That being said, he understands the frustrating balance of government involvement in assisting farms and governments using agriculture as a pawn in the global market. He鈥檇 much rather see farmers rewarded for good practices with a fair price than a subsidy.

The program replacing the previous pilot is called . The rebranding of the new program is still coming from the USDA, according to the Minnesota Board of Water Resources. Rollins said the new program seeks to put farmers first and called the previous program a 鈥済overnment slush fund.鈥�

Newville tries to keep politics out of the programming. He sees both programs from both administrations as promoting conservation on the farm.

鈥淭o us, these are just conservation practices that have always been in the suite of things that we offer,鈥� Newville said.

鈥淐onservation practices are conservation practices,鈥� echoed Mitchell Janson, agronomy specialist with East Otter Tail SWCD.

From the SWCD side of things, this project has challenged the relationships between producers and staff, Newville said. That鈥檚 especially difficult when new faces are seen utilizing the program.

鈥淪o there were some people that had been doing it (conservation practices), but there were also a lot of people who had not ever done this work. They were dipping their toes and trying to figure it out,鈥� he said.

Trying something new only to have funding withheld isn鈥檛 going over well.

鈥淚f they don鈥檛 trust us, they are not coming through that door. And this program has challenged that a little bit. It鈥檚 made it challenging for us,鈥� Newville said.

On top of the funding freeze came a reduction in staff. NRCS staff cuts across Minnesota added up to more than 100 people. Wadena County and East Otter Tail County both lost a staff person in the process. That鈥檚 one less person to be able to implement the programs in those counties, he said.

With questions aplenty, Newville said their stance has been to notify producers as soon as they learn something new.