Washington, D.C. (RFD News) — According to reports from Politico and Civil Eats, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has canceled a $300 million program designed to help farmers purchase and retain land, a move that is drawing mixed reactions across the agricultural sector.
The program—known as the Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access (ILCMA) initiative—was created under the Biden Administration’s American Rescue Plan and launched in 2023 to support beginning and underserved farmers facing barriers to land ownership.
According to multiple reports, the program had awarded funding to roughly 50 projects nationwide through nonprofits, tribal groups, and universities, with the goal of improving access to land, capital, and markets. However, the USDA has now terminated most of those contracts, effectively ending the initiative before it could be fully implemented.
The cancellation affects organizations that reportedly had already begun implementing projects to help farmers—particularly those historically underserved—gain access to land and financing. Many of those projects targeted barriers such as high land costs, lack of capital, and succession planning challenges.
Advocates say the loss of funding could have significant consequences, especially as farmland prices remain elevated and entry into agriculture becomes increasingly difficult for younger producers. Some groups report that farmers were already in the pipeline for assistance, including down payment support for land purchases, when the funding was cut.
Meanwhile, the decision is adding to ongoing conversations about land access, generational turnover in agriculture, and how best to support the next wave of American farmers.
USDA Defends Decision to Cut the Program
In termination letters, USDA officials said the program no longer aligns with agency priorities, citing concerns over diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) criteria and how funds were being used. According to reporting, officials described the initiative as involving “discriminatory preferences” and characterized some spending as wasteful.
The agency also cited examples of expenditures it deemed inappropriate, arguing that the program did not sufficiently focus on direct support for farmers.
Organizations impacted by the decision have been given the opportunity to appeal the cancellations, and some are considering legal action. The move is part of a broader review of USDA programs as the agency reassesses spending priorities and policies under the current administration.
RFD NEWS reached out to the USDA to confirm these reports, and a department spokesperson provided the following statement:
“Over the last year, USDA has worked to clean up the mess left for us by the last Administration. To no surprise, a peek behind the curtain of this Biden-era program revealed the egregious misuse of taxpayer dollars to the tune of nearly $300 million dollars.
Under the guise of increasing land access for producers, the ILA program included no minimum requirement for direct producer support.
Instead, the program permitted the abuse of federal funds, including expenditures on the purchasing of a barbecue smoker, construction of a gazebo, massages, and for one awardee, a $20,000 budget for ink pens alone.
Specific Examples of inappropriate spending under the ILA program include:- $20,000 for a barbecue smoker
- $20,000 allocated for massages for farmers
- $110,000 for a camper/RV
- $27,000 for drones
- $112,500 for refreshments
- $130,355 for office supplies, including $20,000 for pens
- $10,000 for a camera to livestream cooking videos
- Funding for gazebo construction
- Multi-million-dollar budgets with vague justifications such as “travel” and “supplies”
