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Farmers left in limbo after USDA cancels Climate‑Smart Commodities program; AMP replacement uncertain
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Summary
Witnesses said USDA's abrupt cancellation of the Partnerships for Climate‑Smart Commodities (CSC) program has left thousands of producers and millions in planned work without promised funding; witnesses said USDA's replacement (Advancing Markets for Producers, AMP) lacks a clear timeline and capacity to restore lost projects and staff.
Witnesses testified that USDA's cancellation of the Partnerships for Climate‑Smart Commodities (CSC) program in April left active projects, awarded contracts and local partner staff in immediate uncertainty.
Ranking Member Takuda summarized the program history and scale during the hearing: the CSC "was overwhelmingly popular and food producers across the country leveraged $3,100,000,000 in CSC funding to get shovels in the ground on cost effective partnership based conservation projects." She said USDA canceled the program on the grounds that projects did not sufficiently prioritize direct payments to farmers and noted that more than 14,000 farmers covering 3.2 million acres were affected.
Nicole Galase, executive director of the Hawaii Cattlemen's Association, described local impacts: "Because it was canceled, those projects are canceled as well. All those contracts were canceled. And if a producer is extremely fortunate, they're going to be continuing those projects on their own dime, but that was not planned for." She added that producer engagement teams and partner organizations have lost employees and that applicants are trying to reapply under the new AMP initiative with reduced staff capacity.
Panelists urged clarity on timing and eligibility for AMP and asked USDA to prioritize bridging funding or mechanisms to preserve projects already in progress. Several witnesses argued that sudden cancellations undermine trust among producers and partner organizations and recommended that USDA provide a clear re‑opening plan and timeline for AMP reviews and awards.
Ending: Members pressed for written updates and asked USDA to explain how AMP will handle projects started under CSC; no formal direction was issued at the hearing.
