Across food and agriculture policy, the Trump administration continues to advance an agenda shaped by corporate influence—weakening accountability, sidelining public health, and constraining states’ ability to protect the people.
Recent developments such as dismantling of climate and conservation programs, a new round of federal budget cuts targeting food assistance and “poison pill” provisions that remain in the Farm Bill underscore how deeply corporate capture continues to shape federal and state food and farm policy.
In our latest CROP HOT TAKES Blog, we share updates on federal actions that have impacts on your work and communities including:
- How the USDA and EPA continue dismantling critical climate programs while the Forest Service is reorganized ahead of an unprecedented fire season;
- The push by agrochemical companies to limit their liability & obscure public knowledge around chemical risks;
- An overview of Trump’s latest budget proposal that reveals even deeper cuts to food assistance, rural programs; and
- Concerns around the House Farm Bill that is moving forward with unpopular “Poison Pill” provisions still intact.
See more below. We will continue to monitor these issues and be in touch with further resources and information as they become available. If you need assistance on any of these issues or others, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our team at [email protected]
- USDA, EPA Continue Dismantling of Climate Programs, PLUS Forest Service Reorganization:
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- While industry insiders and their allied lawmakers celebrated their rising power under the Trump administration at a recent climate deniers conference in DC, Trump’s agencies continued their quest to dismantle conservation, climate efforts and public health efforts.
- In 2025, the USDA lost 21% of its workforce throwing programming that farmers rely on into chaos and disarray. Then in March 2026, the administration quietly shut down the Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access program, a critical program that new and beginning farmers (often practicing regenerative ag) relied on to get access to land. The program aimed to help underrepresented farmers, but also had the potential indirect effect of countering the growing consolidation and corporate control in the agriculture industry, typically responsible for agriculture’s sizable carbon impacts.
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- On April 9th the USDA also finalized a rule rolling back National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements that have been in place since the 1970’s and requires the government to identify and assess the environmental impacts of any “major federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the human environment.” Changes include no longer requiring environmental impact assessments, eliminating opportunities for public comment, and removing climate change and environmental justice considerations in projects on federal lands.
- What’s more, On March 31, the US Forest Service announced massive reorganization plans including moving its headquarters from Washington, DC, to Salt Lake City, Utah and close or repurpose all nine of its regional offices, create 15 new state offices, and shutter 57 research and development facilities in more than 30 states all ahead of what experts warn is going to be catastrophic wildfire season. What’s more the plan seems to be signaling that the federal government expects states to “pick up the tab” left by the downsized agency while facing some of the biggest budget deficits in history.
- In 2025, the USDA lost 21% of its workforce throwing programming that farmers rely on into chaos and disarray. Then in March 2026, the administration quietly shut down the Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access program, a critical program that new and beginning farmers (often practicing regenerative ag) relied on to get access to land. The program aimed to help underrepresented farmers, but also had the potential indirect effect of countering the growing consolidation and corporate control in the agriculture industry, typically responsible for agriculture’s sizable carbon impacts.
- While industry insiders and their allied lawmakers celebrated their rising power under the Trump administration at a recent climate deniers conference in DC, Trump’s agencies continued their quest to dismantle conservation, climate efforts and public health efforts.
- Agrochemical Companies Continue Push to Limit Liability & Public Knowledge:
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- Since the start of the second Trump administration, the chemical industry appears to have only gained more influence and power. From running pesticide immunity bills in 10 states during the 2026 session to successfully getting a pesticide immunity provision placed in the House Farm Bill to a landmark ruling before SCOTUS that would prevent states from taking action to protect their communities from health impacts from agrochemicals, the agrochemical industry has had a banner year. Even so, only one of the 10 state pesticide immunity bills has passed so far. In Monsanto v. Durnell, the Supreme Court case that could shield Monsanto from liability tied to cancer claims involving Roundup, multiple bipartisan amici curiae briefs have been filed in opposition, including one signed by 37 bi-partisan state legislators.
- What’s more: in the midst of a corporate backed campaign to limit liability for health harms caused by agrochemicals, the EPA quietly took offline a public data tool that made it easier for vulnerable communities (many of whom are communities of color) to access information about nearby chemical risks and prepare for potential disasters.
- Trump’s Latest Budget Reveals Even Deeper Cuts to Food Assistance, Rural Programs.
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- In the latest round of President Trump’s efforts to slash public funding and funnel it to his billionaire friends, his proposed budget released at the beginning of April includes a proposed 19 percent cut in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) budget for the upcoming fiscal year. The cuts totalling nearly 5 billion dollars would primarily target funding for food assistance programs like SNAP, WIC, and School Lunches and Climate programs like the Conservation Technical Assistance program while also zeroing out line items for rural focused programs like the Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program. Find a list of total cuts here.
- House Farm Bill with “Poison Pill” Provisions Moves Forward
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- After a brief break last month, the House Farm Bill containing several deeply controversial provisions is moving forward and will be heard in the House Rules Committee on April 27th. Advocates are hoping to get some of the most concern provisions from the bill stripped during this round after being unsuccessful in the House Agriculture Committee. State legislators can voice their concerns about these dangerous provisions by connecting with their congressional delegation. If you are a state legislators and would like support to engage on these pesticide issues please reach out the SiX Ag team at [email protected]
- The “Poison Pill” provisions in the Farm Bill include:
- Section 10201(3): Permanently excludes dozens of hazardous chemicals used in industrial agriculture from human health and environmental safety reviews that are currently required under the Federal Insecticide Fungicide and Rodenticide Act.
- Section 10202: Weakens and delays efforts to protect children, farmworkers, and public health, from dangerous pesticides by giving unprecedented authority to the USDA’s Office of Pest Management Policy to review and potentially veto any environmental or human health safeguards determined to be necessary by EPA.
- Section 10203(3): Undermines the integrity of the Endangered Species Act in an unprecedented manner by delaying protections for endangered species against dangerous pesticides by giving an internal interagency workgroup a de facto veto on any efforts to protect endangered species from pesticides, which could delay and weaken critical conservation measures.
- Section 10204: Delays the review of hundreds of pesticides for harms to human health, endangered wildlife, and endocrine disruption until 2031, leaving potentially dangerous pesticides on the market and in widespread use without any updated protective measures.
- Section 10205: Immunizes pesticide companies from their duty to warn the public about dangerous chemicals in their pesticide formulations, potentially eliminating access to the federal courts for thousands of individuals with cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and other health issues scientifically linked to pesticide exposure.
- Section 10206: Eliminates the six-decade-old authority of state and local governments to implement additional local and state-focused restrictions on the use of dangerous pesticides to protect children, farmworkers, pollinators, public health, and the environment.
- Section 10207: Erases important, long-standing safeguards to protect people and wildlife from pesticide pollution discharged directly into waterways through the Clean Water Act Pesticide General Permit (“PGP”), though the broad language would exempt pesticide approvals from the Endangered Species Act, Clean Air Act, and other bedrock environmental laws.
- For an in-depth look at the House Farm Bill check out the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition’s Unpacking the Farm Bill Series.