April 3, 2026 – The White House has proposed a 19 percent cut in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) budget for the upcoming fiscal year, with an increase in spending for the agency’s reorganization efforts.

President Donald Trump sent his fiscal year 2027 budget request to Congress on Friday. In theory, the request will serve as the basis for Congressional appropriations. But during last year’s process, Congress broke with the White House in several areas, including agriculture conservation funding.

Friday’s request calls USDA a “bloated” bureaucracy with programs that are “irrelevant to supporting an America First agricultural policy.” In total, it requests $20.8 billion in discretionary budget authority for 2027, a $4.9 billion decrease from the 2026 congressionally enacted levels.

The biggest investment in the USDA included in the request is $50 million for the agency’s reorganization plan. A key part of the plan involves moving USDA employees out of Washington, D.C., to regional hubs across the country. While the administration argues this will better reach rural communities and farmers, much of the feedback to the plan has focused on concerns it will result in further staffing cuts.

Many of the programs suggested for cuts were also included in last year’s budget request. The latest proposal suggests cutting $240 million from the McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program, a foreign aid program. Under the State Department section of the budget request, it asks for $1.2 billion in cuts to Food for Peace, another foreign food aid program.

Members of Congress from farm country have fought to preserve funding for these programs, which provide a market for excess commodities.

The budget request also includes $510 million in cuts to the National Institute of Food and Agriculture Formula Grants, $82 million from the Rural Business Service, and $659 million from Community Facilities Grant Earmarks.

The White House budget asks Congress to cut funding for the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) by $61 million, which houses the National Organic Program and other initiatives to boost markets for commodities and specialty crops.

The request says the agriculture industry can support its own marketing “without deepening the Federal deficit” and suggests the industry use check-off programs, or commodity-specific marketing and research programs, rather than taxpayer dollars.

The budget request also includes investments in Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) priorities. Under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the White House asks for $19 million to expand access to nutrition services at “Health Centers” through healthy food and nutrition education. It also includes $57 million to remove “unsafe chemicals” in the food supply, among other investments in the Food and Drug Administration’s regulatory capability.

Under the request, the Environmental Protection Agency would lose $4.6 billion from last year’s level, a 52 percent decrease. (Link to this post.)

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