DOGE cuts $2.5B in USDA grants for rural aid and research

In April 2026, the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) directed approximately $2.5 billion in cuts to USDA grants that support rural development, agricultural research, and international food aid. These cuts were implemented as part of the Trump administration's broader push to slash federal spending and reduce what it characterized as wasteful government programs.

The White House's FY 2027 budget proposal released in early April requested a $4.9 billion cut to USDA's discretionary funding, a 19 percent reduction from 2026 enacted levels. DOGE, led by billionaire Elon Musk, worked alongside Agriculture Secretary BRBrooke Rollins to identify and execute the grant eliminations across multiple USDA programs.

DOGE-directed grant cuts targeted the Community Facilities Loan Guarantee Program with a $659 million elimination. This program has historically provided low-cost credit and grants to rural communities for schools, hospitals, water systems, and broadband infrastructure. The administration claimed the program had morphed into a pork-barrel spending program for wasteful earmarks, citing three projects in blue states—🌴California, 🦞Connecticut, and 🏛️Massachusetts—totaling $5.6 million as evidence.

Rural Development programs also faced a $82 million cut to the Rural Business Service and a $61 million reduction to the Agricultural Marketing Service. House appropriators later scaled back these cuts, proposing a 4 percent decline compared to the Trump administration's 19 percent cut, but the damage to rural communities' grant expectations was already done.

The Food for Peace program, which provides international food aid, faced devastating cuts. The Trump budget proposed reducing Food for Peace from $1.2 billion in 2026 to just $97 million—a 92 percent elimination that would slash funding for emergency food assistance to conflict-affected populations and food-insecure nations.

Additionally, the budget eliminated the McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program, a $240 million initiative that provided school meals in developing countries. The administration stated these programs could disrupt local markets and that other aid efforts would be maintained, but the proposed cuts effectively ended both programs.

The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) faced a $510 million cut to its Formula Grants program, which funds research and extension activities at land-grant universities, forestry schools, and veterinary medicine schools. The administration proposed shifting NIFA research funding from formula-based grants to competitive grants, a change that disadvantages smaller institutions and rural universities.

NIFA's Capacity Grants, formerly called Formula Grants and intended for land-grant institutions, were cut by $150 million. The proposal followed a $602 million reduction to NIFA included in the previous year's budget, compounding the strain on agricultural research infrastructure serving rural America.

Agriculture Secretary BRBrooke Rollins actively collaborated with DOGE to identify what she called wasteful spending. Rollins, confirmed by the Senate in February 2025, welcomed the cost-cutting team to USDA, stating: We know that that work will make us better here at USDA. It will make us stronger, it will make us faster, and it will make us more efficient.

Rollins revealed that USDA had terminated 78 contracts totaling more than $132 million and was reviewing over 1,000 additional contracts for potential termination. She also announced that USDA would end all Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs and cancel 948 contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

DOGE implemented a requirement that the Farm Service Agency (FSA) obtain DOGE approval for farm loans over $500,000. According to a memo from FSA deputy administrator HBHouston Bruck on April 29, all loans and guarantees of $500,000 or more to formal entities would require clearance from the Office of the Secretary and DOGE in compliance with an executive order on government cost efficiency.

This new approval requirement directly slowed lending decisions at a critical time for farmers. The FSA had issued 22,600 farm loans worth approximately $4.7 billion in fiscal year 2023. The $500,000 threshold meant significant agricultural loans would now face bureaucratic delays from DOGE review, contradicting claims that DOGE streamlined federal efficiency.

The April 2026 DOGE cuts and budget proposal triggered responses from rural lawmakers and agriculture groups. Some Republican appropriators resisted the deepest cuts, proposing a 4 percent USDA reduction instead of Trump's 19 percent. However, DOGE's grant eliminations proceeded faster than the appropriations process, meaning rural communities and researchers had less time to adjust.

Congress had previously rebuffed Trump's budget cutting proposals: in 2025, Congress rebuked a $7 billion USDA cut and instead funded the department at similar levels to the previous year as part of a November spending package negotiated to end a government shutdown. The April 2026 cuts represented a more direct and immediate assault on USDA spending that bypassed the normal appropriations review.

Agriculture, conservation, and rural development groups warned that the cuts would devastate farming communities and agricultural research. They noted that rural 🦬North Dakota had received water infrastructure funding serving over 169,000 residents, and rural 🎸Mississippi had benefited from programs that improved clean water access for over 500,000 residents. A backlog of 995 applications worth $2.5 billion in USDA water and wastewater infrastructure funding was waiting for processing.

The cuts to research funding threatened the entire system of agricultural innovation dependent on land-grant universities. Economists estimated that the 21 percent cut to USDA—if fully implemented—would cost rural communities hundreds of thousands of jobs in agriculture, food processing, and rural infrastructure sectors, disproportionately hitting small towns and rural counties.

DOGE's broader workplace overhaul at USDA extended beyond grants. Rollins announced plans to relocate USDA employees out of 🏛️Washington, D.C. to five regional hubs, with $50 million budgeted for the reorganization effort. The agency also mandated that all USDA personnel return to working in the office instead of remote work and eliminated all DEI programs and identity celebrations.

More than 15,000 USDA employees left the agency through Trump administration resignation programs. Rollins testified before Congress that she was actively recruiting to fill positions at the Farm Service Agency, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and other critical offices. The departures created staffing shortages that further delayed grant processing and rural assistance even as the administration claimed to be improving efficiency.