Ag Secretary Brooke Rollins is canceling the Biden-era USDA Climate Smart Program, calling it a “slush fund.”
It is being renamed and comes with major changes in how the money is spent.
Secretary Rollins says her Department went through the Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodoties program line by line and found farmers and ranchers were being left with little help after various fees. She has renamed the program the Advancing Markets for Producers initiative.
USDA will review any exisitng grants, making sure they meet certain critera. The largest being 65 percent of federal dollars must go to producers.
Rollins says the prior program was largely built as a “green new scam” that did not benefit American farmers.
Related Stories
The government reopens after 43 days. USDA resumes key reports, weighs farm aid, and watches China’s next move on U.S. soybean purchases.
Winter weather will challenge livestock producers working to rebuild their herds despite harsh conditions.
Friday’s release will be the first WASDE report in about two months, and early estimates indicate a corn surplus is still on the way.
The National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) says recent wins in markets like Malaysia and Cambodia help farmers focus on production rather than trade barriers.
Export strength is concentrated in corn and wheat, while soybeans and sorghum lag, keeping basis and logistics dynamics highly commodity-specific into late fall.