Navigating Current Federal Changes and Challenges

Updated May 29, 2025

Across the country, tens of thousands of farmers and the organizations serving them have been impacted by an unprecedented freeze on federal funds obligated under signed, lawful contracts.

Many in the OEFFA community and beyond remain in limbo. Producers who participated in now-terminated Local Food Purchase Assistance (LFPA) programs, like Ohio CAN, are now confronted with revenue shortages. Farmers who have already installed irrigation equipment or planted cover crops with support from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) have been understandably concerned about the reimbursements they were promised.

What Farmers and Farm Organizations are Experiencing

After sending out a survey to assess the impact of recent federal changes and challenges, we received over 100 responses, highlighting varied levels of harm resulting from federal funding freezes, program terminations, and difficulties in reaching USDA offices. We spoke with several affected farmers, researchers, community members, and organizations, including some who wanted to amplify their messages.

To help us better advocate with our members of Congress and the USDA, we talked with Casey Ellington of Ellington Farms, Jennifer Villwock of Happy Suns Farm, and Rachael Maysels of FairShare CSA Coalition. The video below highlights what they’ve experienced.

What OEFFA is Experiencing

OEFFA is among the many farmers, businesses, and organizations impacted by the federal funding freeze. Two of our major federal grants, Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry (CSAF) and Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP), support integral parts of OEFFA’s educational work, including:

• One-on-one technical assistance from our staff of experienced sustainable agriculture educators
  • This includes the monthly OEFFA Farmer Help Shop, other workshops and webinars, and providing a general hotline for farmer support
• Organic education, including workshops at the OEFFA conference and help shops for those applying to be organic
• A mentor network to connect farmers transitioning to organic with an experienced organic farmer
• Many of the free OEFFA farm tours and workshops that provide valuable training and information for our farm communities

On April 14, the USDA announced the cancellation of the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities initiative, including OEFFA’s work under the Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry (CSAF) program.

This CSAF cancellation results in a loss of more than $500,000 in critical funds supporting OEFFA in our work helping farmers implement conservation practices, including incentives payments of up to $5,000 a year to each participating farmer.

OEFFA educators spent hundreds of hours recruiting farmers for the CSAF project in Ohio. Without that work, farmers may not know about the opportunity to participate in a program that provides financial and technical support to implement viable climate resilient practices. Our sustainable agriculture educators spent more than 36 hours on direct technical assistance under CSAF, working with participating farmers to help them navigate the program. These are vital services provided to farmers by OEFFA as part of CSAF.

The USDA has offered the opportunity for grantees to restructure their projects so that a minimum of 65 percent of federal funds go to producers.

This is a complex situation with many unknowns. OEFFA will reapply with a restructured plan, but the overhead costs, like the valuable technical assistance our staff provides, are as valuable as direct payments to farmers. Trying new farming practices can have a learning curve, and these educators are a wealth of knowledge and community that many need to make the leap toward new farming practices.

Stay tuned to learn how the program is being restructured and OEFFA’s role in it.

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Has your farm, business, or farm-centered organization been impacted by the funding freeze? Your voice makes a difference. Use our email guide to send an impactful message to Secretary Rollins and your members of Congress. We provide tips for personalizing the pre-drafted message so you can take action in just a few minutes!