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Several state agencies are left confused after the Trump administration threatened to withhold nearly $130 million in federal agriculture funds to the state last week, only to later walk back parts of the threat without revealing which specific programs would still be affected. 

That leaves a lot uncertainty surrounding the future of USDA funding for Minnesota programs that help and support the state’s farmers and ranchers. 

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins 

announced the initial move in a social media post Jan. 9

, writing the USDA would freeze all federal financial awards to the state “until sufficient proof has been provided that the fraud has stopped.”

Without providing evidence, Rollins claimed that the Trump administration has uncovered widespread fraud in unspecified federally funded programs in Minnesota, saying in her social media post, “Enough is enough!” and “No more handouts to thieves!” 

Rollins stated that the Minnesota agencies would have 30 days to justify all federal payments they’ve received from Jan. 20, 2025, when President Trump took office, until now. Failure to present justification to the USDA by the deadline will result in those payments remaining frozen. 

Many of the affected programs included poultry and livestock disease testing services offered by the University of Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and the Board of Animal Health.

But last week, the Trump administration began walking back some of its threats to cut off USDA funding.

Facilities such as the University of Minnesota’s poultry lab testing facility in Willmar were notified early last week that their funding had been halted. However, the U of M confirmed the funding had been restored on Jan. 14. 

Both the Board of Animal Health and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture received confirmation Friday afternoon from USDA APHIS Veterinary Services that funds related to animal disease response activities were now available to them.

However, they have not received any confirmation from the USDA as to which other funds may still be frozen. State Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen said he hopes the USDA clarifies which programs will be affected by the funding pause.

“More than 10 percent of our budget at the Department of Agriculture is from our federal grants and programs,” Petersen said. “Right now, we have to make some tough decisions on how we're going to fund things in the meantime as we're trying to figure this all out.”

Petersen said he’ll continue to try to communicate with the USDA to better understand their budget situation and what next steps they’ll take. So far, Petersen said, after initial conversations with the department, they’ve received indications that it may be reconsidering its decision. 

“We've been nothing but a good partner to the USDA,” Petersen said. “I would hope that they would recognize that and work with us to return to a normal relationship and return some certainty to our farmers and our businesses.”

Responding to a request for comment, a USDA spokesperson stated in an email last week, “There is relentless proof of fraudulent use of tax dollars, and the letter is clear — Minnesota must defend via payment justifications any USDA award dollars flowing through the State.”

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources officials said they are aware of the USDA's letter, too, but they don't yet know which of the 71 active federal grants the DNR has received could be affected by the funding freeze. That leaves the fate of $29 million in federal funds meant for the next five years up in the air.

The USDA also tried to cut off federal funding for Minnesota’s SNAP benefits, the food assistance program formerly known as food stamps. But 

 blocking the cut, keeping food assistance funding for more than 440,000 Minnesotans intact for now.

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Tadeo Ruiz Sandoval

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Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins had previously announced that nearly $130 million in federal funds for Minnesota would be paused, citing alleged fraud in the state. Now, the USDA is allowing some of that funding to go through.

Trump administration scales back threats to cut off funding to Minnesota ag programs

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