The U.S. Department of Agriculture has abruptly moved to cancel almost all of a roughly $300 million program that was supposed to help underserved producers buy and hold farmland. Minnesota groups are feeling the hit fast. St. Paul’s Latino Economic Development Center, the lead applicant for Minnesota, says the move pulls the rug out from under projects that had already started and that it will seek reconsideration. Farmers who were in the pipeline for low-interest loans, down-payment assistance, and market contracts now face an immediate funding gap as local organizations scramble to determine what, if anything, can replace the lost support.
What the USDA did
The Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access program was announced in 2023 with plans to…..