🏛️USDA reeling from 'crippling' Trump job cuts

Plus: A preview of our new membership program

Feb. 27, 2025 The Midwest Center For Investigative Reporting

Impact: What Trump’s staffing cuts to USDA could mean for farmers and rural communities

In this week’s feature story, Sky Chadde spoke with several recently fired USDA employees, who say mass terminations under President Donald Trump at the U.S. Department of Agriculture are “crippling” the agency, upending federal workers’ lives and leaving farmers and rural communities without needed support.

This story is an example of what we do here at Investigate Midwest: Agriculture is a vital part of our world, but it's also one of the most complex and least transparent industries in the U.S. Our reporters work hard to uncover the truths behind big agribusiness practices, government policies and decisions that impact all of us. Too often, those stories aren't being told.

In an effort to strengthen this type of investigative journalism, we're excited to introduce a membership program that lets you invest in this work. Your membership donation will directly support the investigative work we do — helping us ask the hard questions and dig deeper into the agricultural issues that affect us all.

By joining as a member, you'll help shine a light on the stories that matter most to our region. You'll also help ensure that big agribusiness stays under our watchful eye. Your support will make sure the voices of those in the agribusiness world and rural communities are heard loud and clear.

Our goal is for 100 people to become members of Investigate Midwest by March 25. As you read this week’s feature story — and the rest of our work — I hope you’ll consider joining as a member.

— Ben Felder, editor in chief

Join us by becoming a member today!

Our journalists on the air

In recent weeks, Investigate Midwest journalists have shared their reporting and expertise with various other media outlets.

John McCracken appeared on the “Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone” podcast to discuss the meat industry’s impact on the environment. (He's introduced at about the 9:23 mark.)
Ben Felder was a guest on WBEZ Chicago’s “Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons” to discuss the impact of the bird flu epidemic in both poultry and dairy industries.
Madison Holcomb joined “River to River” on Iowa Public Radio to discuss her Investigate Midwest story about how millions of livestock die each year while being transported.

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**GRAPHIC: These 13 large cities have added farms. Trump’s DEI cuts could jeopardize continued growth.** By Ben Felder, Investigate Midwest

The number of farms in America has long been on a steady decline, shrinking by 9.9% from 2012 to 2022, according to the USDA Census of Agriculture. The decline around large cities has been even more pronounced, with an 18.7% drop in the counties that are home to the nation’s 30 largest cities.

However, some cities, including Baltimore, Portland, Chicago, and Detroit, have seen an increase in farming operations.

Over the last decade, 13 of the nation’s 30 largest cities added farming operations, based on county-level data. That growth could include large operations on the outskirts of a city but the data indicates much of the growth is from small urban farming operations.

View the map here.

ICYMI: As lawmakers target farm spending, could past budget fights offer insight?
By Christopher Walljasper, Investigate Midwest

In 2020, Investigate Midwest reported on President Donald Trump's proposed 2021 budget, which aimed to reduce crop insurance payments, farm safety programs, and rural assistance.

Now, with Trump back in the White House, Congress is debating a new budget resolution that directs the House Agriculture Committee to cut $230 billion over 10 years – and the the nation’s SNAP assistance program could be a major target. The Ag committee’s top Democrat, Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minnesota, said these proposed cuts could come from rolling back the 2021 Thrifty Food Plan update, which increased SNAP benefits to keep up with food prices. If reversed, low-income families would see immediate benefit reductions and lower assistance moving forward.

Craig also cautions that major cuts to SNAP will “certainly make getting a bipartisan farm bill across the finish line more difficult.”

We’ve seen this approach before. Trump’s 2021 budget proposal targeted key agricultural support programs, raising concerns among farmers about financial instability and reduced protections.

As Congress considers similar cuts today, our past reporting offers a look at what’s at stake.