USDA Announces End of Climate-Smart Program

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins announced the cancellation of the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities (PCSC) program on April 14, 2025. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) determined that several projects included high administrative fees, leaving less than half of the federal funding directly benefiting farmers.

Some existing projects may continue if they demonstrate that a significant portion of the awarded funds will be distributed to producers. The USDA emphasized its ongoing support for farmers and encouraged project partners to ensure their initiatives are farmer-focused or to reapply for funding under revised guidelines.

As part of this policy shift, the USDA has restructured the program into the Advancing Markets for Producers (AMP) initiative, stating that this reform aligns the effort with current administration priorities and aims to reduce bureaucratic requirements, streamline reporting and lower paperwork burdens for producers.

The USDA outlined three new Farmer First policy priorities for existing grant agreements:

• A minimum of 65% of federal funds must be allocated directly to producers.
• Grant recipients must have enrolled at least one producer by December 31, 2024.
• Grant recipients must have made a payment to at least one producer by December 31, 2024.

“The Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities initiative was largely built to advance the green new scam at the benefit of NGOs, not American farmers,” said Secretary Rollins. “The concerns of farmers took a backseat during the Biden Administration. During my short time as Secretary, I have heard directly from our farmers that many of the USDA partnerships are overburdened by red tape, have ambiguous goals, and require complex reporting that push farmers onto the sidelines. We are correcting these mistakes and redirecting our efforts to set our farmers up for an unprecedented era of prosperity.”

USDA officials will contact current program partners individually to discuss their future participation. The department confirmed that all eligible expenses incurred before April 13, 2025, will be honored. No new funding will be made available for the partnerships under this reform effort.