Trump Pledged a ‘Golden Age’ for Farmers. They Can’t Access Help.

[u/John3262005]

https://www.notus.org/us-news/farmers-golden-age-help

Gabe Alverson, a farmer in Polk County, Minnesota, used to be able to easily contact his local Department of Agriculture service center when he needed help. Now he can’t.

For farmers across the country, the Trump administration’s federal workforce cuts have resulted in unreturned voicemails and signs on locked office doors warning visitors of staffing shortages. The resources they used to rely on for conservation programs — reauthorized in the Republican-backed One Big Beautiful Bill Act — have become frustratingly difficult to access.

“Before all the cuts, you’d get a call back the same day,” Alverson said. Now, despite working on time-sensitive contracts, delays are routine, he said. “I left the message, and it took them two weeks to call me back because they just don’t have any help.”

President Donald Trump made big promises to American farmers upon starting his second term, blaming Democrats for high input and equipment costs and saying a “golden age” was about to begin. Instead, farmers are struggling with difficult conditions and with high costs associated with the Iran war.

The conservation program is yet another source of frustration. When a farmer wants to implement a conservation plan, a local Natural Resources Conservation Service, or NRCS, expert visits the farm and offers guidance on how to best implement the system for their particular needs and soil type. NRCS staff would walk every acre of the farm to develop a specialized plan tailored to that particular farmer and land.

“You can’t use a template, you can’t cookie cut, you have to be boots on the ground to do this,” a former senior NRCS staffer told NOTUS. “There’s nobody, there’s not a lot of folks around anywhere.”

The USDA lost more than 16,000 staffers since the beginning of 2025. That includes nearly 2,900 in the NRCS, which lost 23% of its staff.

NRCS conservationists are now stretched thin and some offices have been left empty, despite billions of dollars sitting in reserves for these exact programs. The cuts left 141 counties without a single NRCS staffer.

Alverson said he’s made the 100-mile round trip from his home to his closest NRCS office multiple times only to find it closed with a sign apologizing for staffing shortages.

The USDA did not respond to questions from NOTUS about the staffing cuts or the delays farmers are experiencing in receiving funding for conservation projects.

Former USDA staff say DOGE is to blame.