A $700 million regenerative farming pilot program may falter without the needed USDA staff and expertise

Clover is a "workhorse" cover crop used in regenerative
farming. (Photo by Veronica White, Unsplash)

Despite a $700 million budget and farmers excited about the program, the Regenerative Agriculture Initiative may have trouble getting off the ground. "The USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service has lost more than 2,000 employees since January 2025, potentially harming the department’s ability to roll out the initiative," reports Claire Carlson of The Daily Yonder.

The initiative was announced last December as a joint effort by the USDA and the Department of Health and Human Services to help farmers incorporate more regenerative farming practices, such as cover crops and no-till farming.

For the most part, the Trump administration's NRCS layoffs mostly terminated newer or early-career employees, who "are the employees who would have likely helped with the rollout of the Regenerative Agriculture Initiative," Carlson reports. "Without the necessary staffing, the initiative could falter — even though it’s likely to be very popular among farmers."

At its current staffing levels, the NRCS doesn't have enough employees to help farmers through the application and award process, and it may lack personnel with the right expertise, Carlson reports. 

When the Regenerative Agriculture Initiative was announced, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy,Jr. and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz issued a shared press release extolling the need for "American farmers [to] adopt practices that improve soil health, enhance water quality, and boost long-term productivity, all while strengthening America’s food and fiber supply."

It's unclear how American farmers can meet those goals without the necessary USDA staff at the Natural Resources Conservation Service to support farmers who want to participate in RAI. Carlson adds, "For farmers planning to apply for funds through the initiative, it’s quite possible their questions to the agency will go unanswered with fewer people on the job to assist."