The United States Department of Agriculture governs the food system that sustains 330 million Americans and the agricultural economy that employs tens of millions more. Its mandate spans food safety, nutrition assistance, conservation, rural development, trade, and research. USDA administers the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which serves more than 42 million people monthly; the National School Lunch Program, which feeds approximately 30 million children each school day; the Farm Service Agency (FSA), which provides the financial safety net keeping family farms solvent; the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), which pays farmers to steward their land; the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), the largest publicly funded agricultural research system in the world; and the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), which ensures the safety of the nation's meat, poultry, and egg supply.
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Decimated the Workforce: DOGE-directed mass terminations removed more than 20,000 USDA employees by mid-2025. ARS lost 1,523 scientists, including researchers with decades of irreplaceable expertise in ongoing long-term experiments. FSIS lost 555 experienced inspectors, with 63% from the front-line inspections group -- the people on whom meat, poultry, and egg safety depends. Rural Development and FSA offices were targeted for closure across the country, removing the only meaningful federal presence in many rural counties.
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Largest SNAP Cut in American History: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1, signed July 4, 2025) cut SNAP by $186 billion over ten years, stripping benefits from an estimated 22.3 million families. Work requirement age was raised from 55 to 65. Parents of children 14 and older now face work requirements, specifically targeting single-parent households. Veterans, homeless individuals, and former foster youth lost their exemptions. Federal administrative cost matching to states was cut from 50% to 25%.
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Destroyed Climate-Smart Agriculture: Cancelled the $3 billion Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program covering 14,000 farmers, 135 partner organizations, and 3.2 million acres. Froze all Inflation Reduction Act USDA spending, including $8.45 billion in EQIP funding. Zeroed out Conservation Technical Assistance funding (from $776.5 million to zero in the FY2026 proposal). Halted CRP enrollment.
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Undermined School Nutrition and Protected Monopolies: Weakened school meal nutrition standards. Withdrew the Packers and Stockyards Act unfair practices rule and cancelled the enforcement partnership with state attorneys general. Four companies still control 85% of U.S. beef with no regulatory constraint on their market power.
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Abandoned Rural America: Targeted Rural Development and FSA offices for closure -- often the only federal presence in rural counties where farmers access loans, disaster assistance, and conservation contracts. Beginning farmers lost access to FSA loan officers and NRCS technical assistance. Emergency disaster response capacity was degraded at the moment it is most needed.
Repeal the SNAP provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Restore exemptions for veterans, homeless individuals, and foster youth. Restore 50% federal administrative cost matching. Permanently index benefits to the Thrifty Food Plan with automatic cost-of-living adjustments. Codify broad-based categorical eligibility. Target: reduce national food insecurity rate from 13.7% to below 8% by Year 4.
Offer reinstatement with back pay and full seniority to all DOGE-separated employees. Publish a five-year Workforce Recovery Plan within 60 days. Execute emergency FSIS inspector hiring to restore food safety capacity within 18 months. Reopen all closed FSA and Rural Development offices by Year 1. Protect ARS research facilities from executive closure through statute.
Reinstate the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program under CCC Charter Act authority (15 U.S.C. 713a). Establish $1 billion annually in permanent mandatory funding through the Climate-Smart Agriculture Investment Act. Raise the CRP acreage cap from 27 million to 35 million acres. Restore EQIP and Conservation Stewardship Program funding. Target: 25,000 farmers in climate-smart programs with verified emission reductions by Year 3.
Resume the Packers and Stockyards Act unfair practices rulemaking. Restore cooperative enforcement with state attorneys general. Direct AMS to publish a Meatpacking Market Concentration Report within 90 days. Target: reduce beef packing four-firm concentration from 85% to below 70% through antitrust enforcement and support for independent packing capacity.
Reissue 2022 school meal nutrition standards under 42 U.S.C. 1779 as interim final rules with immediate effect. Initiate notice-and-comment rulemaking for permanent, science-based standards by Year 1 end.
Invest $10 billion over five years: $1 billion annually for rural broadband through ReConnect, $1.5 billion annually for rural water and wastewater infrastructure, $500 million annually for rural health facilities. Target 90% rural broadband coverage at 100/20 Mbps by Year 4. Reduce rural hospital closure rate to zero through the Rural Hospital Stabilization Grant Program.
Create a USDA Office of Food Systems Equity and an Office of Civil Rights Remediation ($25 million initial budget). Expand the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program to $75 million annually. Create a Farmland Access Program within FSA. Cap commodity payments at $125,000 per operation and redirect support from mega-farms to beginning, small, and mid-size producers.
- Executive Order restoring SNAP benefit protections and suspending expanded work requirements for veterans, homeless individuals, and foster youth
- Executive Order reinstating the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program under CCC Charter Act authority
- Executive Order directing USDA workforce restoration with reinstatement offers to all DOGE-separated employees
- Executive Order resuming Packers and Stockyards Act enforcement and unfair practices rulemaking
- Executive Order directing emergency FSIS inspector hiring with maximum recruitment incentives
- Executive Order reopening CRP enrollment and freezing all FSA and Rural Development office closures
- $186 billion: SNAP cut over ten years -- the largest food assistance cut in American history
- 22.3 million families: Estimated to lose some or all SNAP benefits
- 20,000+ employees: USDA workforce decimated by DOGE terminations
- 1,523 scientists: Lost from the Agricultural Research Service
- 555 inspectors: Lost from the Food Safety and Inspection Service (63% from inspections group)
- 85% market share: Four companies control U.S. beef packing
- $3 billion program cancelled: Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities (14,000 farmers, 3.2M acres)
- 42 million people: Served by SNAP in any given month
- 30 million children: Fed by the National School Lunch Program daily
- 47.9 million Americans: Lived in food-insecure households in 2024
- 15,000+ farms lost: Since 2018, with 2.5 million acres declining in 2025 alone
- Food Security Act of 2027 -- Repeal SNAP cuts; restore exemptions; establish permanent benefits indexed to the Thrifty Food Plan; restore 50% administrative matching
- Farm Fairness and Food Security Act -- Cap commodity payments at $125,000 per operation; expand beginning farmer programs to $500 million annually; codify unfair practices rulemaking authority
- Climate-Smart Agriculture Investment Act -- Establish $1 billion annually in mandatory funding; raise CRP cap to 35 million acres; expand EQIP climate practice ranking
- Rural Equity and Investment Act -- $1 billion annually for broadband; $1.5 billion for water/wastewater; $500 million for rural health; $250 million for Food Systems Equity grants
- Agricultural Research Restoration and Investment Act -- Establish $2.5 billion minimum ARS appropriation; prohibit facility closures without 180-day Congressional review
- Food Safety Workforce Protection Act -- Codify minimum FSIS inspector staffing ratios; prohibit politically motivated reductions; annual performance reporting
- Agricultural Worker Protection and Farm Labor Housing Act -- Condition USDA subsidies on labor law compliance; increase farm labor housing funding to $150 million annually
- Read the full chapter: Chapter 10: Department of Agriculture
- Contact your representatives: Urge repeal of SNAP cuts and support for the Food Security Act of 2027 and rural investment legislation
- Share this one-pager: Spread awareness of how Project 2025 attacked food security, family farms, and rural communities
- Join the movement: Support food banks, farm advocacy organizations, rural development groups, and food equity organizations in your community
Project 2029 | Section 3: The General Welfare | Last Updated: February 28, 2026 Full chapter: ../../../Section3_The_General_Welfare/Chapter_10_Department_of_Agriculture.md