What’s Working: Trump told farmers and ranchers to “have fun” with his cuts and tariffs. They aren’t.
Canceled grants hurt Colorado’s climate-smart farming organizations. Plus: Colorado lost jobs in March as jobless grew to 4.8%, King Soopers union sues, Denver permits speed up, and more!
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Quick links: Climate-smart farming funding | Unemployment rate rises to 4.8% | King Soopers vs. union update | Reader poll results on tariff impacts | Denver permits speed up and more!
Farmers and ranchers practicing climate-smart agriculture have been on alert since DOGE made it clear it would cut funding to any federal programs mentioning “climate” or “DEI.”
Their fears were realized Monday, when they learned the U.S. Department of Agriculture was eliminating what it called a “Biden Era Climate Slush Fund,” aka Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities, in order to “reprioritize existing funding to farmers.”
The program is being canceled because it was “built to advance the green new scam at the benefit of NGOs, not American farmers,” said USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins in a news release. She said she has “heard directly from producers” that “USDA partnerships are overburdened by red tape, have ambiguous goals and require complex reporting that push farmers onto the sidelines.”
With the reformed, overhauled and newly named Advancing Markets for Producers initiative, USDA is “correcting these mistakes and redirecting efforts to set farmers up for an unprecedented era of prosperity,” Rollins said.
Biden-era projects had too much overhead
Dawn Thilmany, an agricultural economist and professor within the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at Colorado State University, said she believes the administration’s change comes from a perception that the climate smart commodities program had too much overhead and the fact that all grants had to have a government partner, a university partner and an industry partner.
“That was unique about them,” she said, “because it basically said the university verifies that the science behind the project is real, and the government is the gatekeeper for the monies to make sure those go to farmers the right way, and the industry people are there to say, if you do these practices, we have a market for your product.”
But it looks to her “like maybe they’ve been spending a lot of money on what’s called overhead, where that money doesn’t get to the producers but goes to those government, academic and industry partners in the game,” she said.
Rollins’ release says the change was made following a line-by-line review of Biden era climate-related projects when it “became clear that the majority had sky-high administration fees which in many instances provided less than half of the federal funding directly to farmers.”
Select projects may continue if it is demonstrated that a significant amount of the federal funds awarded will go to farmers. The administration says it will continue to support farmers and encourage partners to ensure their projects are farmer focused, or re-apply to continue work that is aligned with the priorities of this administration.
Funding loss will weaken climate-smart farming
Advocates of climate-smart farming and ranching, including the Colorado Department of Agriculture, fear the impacts the funding loss will have in a local industry that contributes around $50 billion to the state’s economy, including about $2 billion in exports to other countries, however.
Climate-smart agriculture is defined by the World Bank as an integrated approach to managing cropland, livestock, forests and fisheries to address the interlinked challenges of food security and climate change.
It includes the use of climate-resilient crop varieties, crop rotation, fertilizer management, water conservation, rotational grazing, and using limited or zero tillage, which fractures and disrupts soil structure, accelerating surface runoff and soil erosion.
Colorado has invested heavily in climate-smart projects, and in 2023 became the only state department of agriculture to be selected as project lead on a climate-smart commodities grant for a farmer-and-rancher-led initiative that connects producers expanding or implementing new soil health practices with local conservation experts.
CDA spokesperson Olga Robak said in an email the agency issued a stop work order to its Partnerships for Climate Smart Commodities subgrantees Wednesday because it lacks clarity from the USDA on the details of their announcement and whether expenses incurred after April 13 will be reimbursed.
She said, “Colorado’s soil health program was built from the ground up by farmers and ranchers who provided input and feedback throughout the process to create a program that works for Colorado producers of any size,” she added.
And she said the decision “will have damaging impacts for Colorado farmers and ranchers and their critical work to advance producer-led soil health practices that will help ag producers adapt to and be more profitable in a drier future.”
Resilience to continue after grant canceled
Not all farmers can “have fun” as Trump told them after announcing more tariffs last month. The push back on climate-smart grants is another hit to the agriculture community.
Thilmany said the cancellation should come as no surprise, because “the Trump administration has been crystal clear” it believes Biden-era programs put too much emphasis on trying to change production practices. She said “the new administration does not feel claims about climate change and how it is mitigated are real.”
That became painfully clear to the Quivira Coalition, with Rollins’ announcement.
Quivira works with ranchers, farmers, government agencies and land stewards to foster resilience on working lands.
They have a program that partners apprentices with skilled ranchers and farmers to learn about regenerative agriculture.
And they found out earlier this week that a Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities grant they had secured was canceled. The grant made it possible to create their Soil to Supper project that supported livestock producers to get more meat into regional supply chains while reducing waste, increasing soil health and building climate resilience.
But they are resolute about continuing the work they do.
“We have already enrolled 13 livestock producers into the program over the last year, and we are dedicated to continuing to support them through their journey to create resilience on their lands,” they said.
With the grant officially terminated, they must raise a minimum of $55,000 to continue funding the work.
They’re asking for donations.
Time will tell how federal funding cuts and Trump’s tariffs impact other parts of Colorado’s agriculture economy.
Rollins said the administration will be reviewing existing grant agreements based on three Farmer First policy priorities: a minimum of 65% of federal funds must go to producers; grant recipients must have enrolled at least one producer as of Dec. 31; and grant recipients must have made a payment to at least one producer as of Dec. 31.
Section by Tracy Ross | Reporter
Poll results: How will tariffs impact you?
When What’s Working asked readers about the new reciprocal tariffs two weeks ago, concerns about the impact on retirement accounts were at the top of the list.
While the markets were down this week, it wasn’t all due to tariff news. Rather, it was Trump’s attack on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for not lowering interest rates, according to The Wall Street Journal. The market was closed yesterday for Good Friday.
And there soon could be a new trade deal with China, according to national news reports.
One anonymous response said NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, took jobs out of the U.S. and “resulted in long term job losses. Tariffs will result in long term job gains for American workers.”
Tom Norton, a reader from Greeley, doesn’t like trade wars. “Reasonable negotiations with select countries could develop a better balance of trade. Consistency in government is far better than chaos. Consistency allows businesses and individuals to make decisions that grow the economy and ultimately the wealth of the nation,” he responded in the latest reader poll.
Colorado’s jobless rate rises to 4.8%
As the state’s labor force shrunk by a couple thousand workers in March and the number unemployed rose by 1,200, the state’s unemployment rate went up one-tenth of a percentage point to 4.8%. That was higher than the U.S. rate of 4.2%, also up one-tenth of a point from February.
But there was still job growth, at least according to preliminary March data. Employers added 6,800 nonfarm payroll jobs — the bulk came from private employers, at 5,800, while the government added 1,000 jobs.
However, much of the March growth was credited to unionized grocery workers returning to their jobs after the King Soopers labor strike ended in February.
Remove the strike impact and March may have been flat or slightly negative, said Tim Wonhof, economist with the state Department of Labor and Employment.
Still, “We wouldn’t attribute any movement to a single actor,” he said in an email.
Job growth has been a challenge for Colorado. The state labor department revised the February job loss number downward, to 11,600, from 8,900, after more employers responded to surveys. The average monthly change in jobs for the past year is -800, according to the state labor department.
National job growth fared better than Colorado, Wonhoff said.
“National growth was reasonably robust in March (growing by 228,000 jobs) but also showed fairly large downward revisions to January and February estimates” by -48,000 jobs, he added. “Additionally, 12 states had over the month job declines in March. The divergence between state and national estimates is something we are monitoring closely.”
In March, the Grand Junction metro area had the highest nonfarm employment growth in the state, up 1.3%. The Fort Collins area had the biggest decline, at -1.8%.
>> See Colorado’s March job data
Section by Tamara Chuang | Business/Technology Reporter
Sun economy stories you may have missed
➔ Coal-fired power plant in northwestern Colorado still set for 2028 closure despite Trump administration orders. Tri-State Generation is reviewing executive orders, but says its plan to close all three coal-fired units at Craig Station is based on economics >> Read story
➔ A dip in Colorado electric vehicle sales doesn’t have car dealers panicking — yet. The politics embroiling Tesla and stale models hurt sales for the top EV brand, but a $7,500 federal subsidy is still in place and hybrids are proving a popular choice for consumers >> Read story
➔ Colorado legislature passes bill punting to local governments on how much restaurant servers are paid. House Bill 1208, which passed the legislature and is awaiting Gov. Jared Polis’ signature, would let local governments where the minimum wage is higher than the state’s minimum decide how to calculate the base pay of tipped workers >> Read story
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We answer to you — not a billionaire The Colorado Sun, independent local news worth supporting!
Other working bits
➔ King Soopers union files lawsuit halfway into 100-day “labor peace” negotiations. UFCW Local 7, which represents more than 10,000 King Soopers grocery workers in Colorado, said it filed a lawsuit Thursday against the grocery chain for violating an agreement to “not implement any new terms without our agreement, lock-out workers” and “negotiate in good faith,” according to a news release.
But the sides apparently were close. In a notice to union members last week, UFCW officials said the tentative agreement included benefits for workers with seniority and a trial of a modernized scheduling system hit a wall because the company “set an arbitrary deadline of April 12” before the offer expired. That violated the 100-day “labor peace” agreement, which ended the February strike.
On its negotiations update page for employees, King Soopers said UFCW’s claims “are without merit” and “will not distract us from what matters most: reaching an agreement that rewards you and supports the customers and communities we all serve.” >> See updates: UFCW, King Soopers
➔ City of Denver overhauls permit process to “get to yes” within 180 days. Mayor Mike Johnston issued an executive order this week to speed up the city’s permitting process. That includes coordinating 280 employees across seven departments to “get to yes,” on applications within 180 days — or get a partial refund of up to $10,000. The effort also includes expanding in-person hours from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the week and creates a dashboard so anyone can see how long the process is taking. As of Friday, the average number of days until approval was 71. It’s also part of Johnston’s earlier goal to streamline permits. >> Details
➔ Don’t get tricked by high period business filing fees. It cost $25, not $75. And a Colorado Springs company that sent unsolicited letters to folks with a deadline but nothing that said, “This is an advertisement. This offer is not being made by, or on behalf of, any government agency,” has settled with the Colorado Attorney General and agreed to stop sending deceptive notices. Compliance Services Colorado will also pay $95,631 in refunds to be evenly split among 3,640 individuals and businesses that were impacted since Aug. 7, 2023. That’s approximately $26.27 each. >> Read settlement
➔ Rural Jump-Start program adds Trinidad startup mixing AI and hydroponics. Bird & Squirrels Hydroponics gained entry into the state’s Rural Jump Start program, which supports job creation by rural startups that includes tax credits for the business and employees, plus the possibility of a $20,000 operating grant. The Trinidad startup aims to grow vegetables for regional restaurants using a custom hydroponic system that relies on AI controls. The two-person company plans to hire three employees, according to the state Office of Economic Development and International Trade, which oversees the program. >> More on Rural Jump Start
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