Overview

• The Trump administration abruptly cut $1 billion from USDA programs supplying local produce to schools and food banks, causing over a 10% drop in sales for small farmers like Jacob and Jennifer Thomas in northeast Kansas.
• An $8,000 federal grant intended for greenhouse construction was canceled, halting farm expansion plans for the Thomas family.
• A $750,000 agriculture infrastructure grant was paused and later unpaused, leaving the future of a planned warehouse and farm store uncertain.
• Renewed trade tensions with Canada threaten crucial agricultural imports, including a 2,000-unit chrysanthemum order vital to the Thomas family's operations.
• Frustration and disillusionment grow among farmers who previously supported Trump, with many describing the policy reversals as financially and emotionally devastating.