Judge orders USDA to restore $127M in farmland

A federal judge has ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture to restore $127 million in land-access grants to 24 farm organizations, ruling the agency likely broke the law when it canceled the awards earlier this year. U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell issued the order June 30 in Washington, D.C., granting a preliminary injunction sought by the groups, all recipients of USDA's Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access program. Howell also granted the organizations' request to formally join an existing lawsuit against USDA, known as Urban Sustainability Directors Network v. USDA, that was first filed in June 2025. ADVERTISEMENT In her opinion, Howell wrote that the groups "have demonstrated that the terminations of their individual grants were likely contrary to statute, that they will suffer irreparable harm in the absence of relief, and that the balance of equities and public interest favor preliminary injunctive relief." Among the upper Midwest organizations whose grants were restored are the Sustainable Iowa Land Trust, Iowa Valley RC&D and South Dakota-based Four Bands Community Fund and NDN Collective. Amanda Koehler, a young farmer and manager of the Land, Capital, and Market Access Network said the USDA's Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access program is the "largest public investment in land access in our nation’s history, and the only program designed to holistically address the challenges young and underserved producers face. “In the face of a land access crisis, aging agricultural community, and fragile farm economy, our government should be fighting for next generation producers, not illegally dismantling the programs they depend on," Koehler said. "We’re grateful the court recognized what’s at stake and is ensuring that plaintiffs can continue to tangibly improve land, capital, and market access for young and underserved producers while litigation continues.” USDA terminated 49 of the program's 50 grants in March, citing what termination letters described as "discriminatory preferences" tied to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and concerns about "waste, fraud, and abuse." Howell's opinion states the government has "repeatedly failed to substantiate" those fraud and abuse claims over the course of the litigation. The ruling builds on an August 2025 decision in the same case, in which Howell restored six grants held by the lawsuit's original plaintiffs — Urban Sustainability Directors Network, Oakville Bluegrass Cooperative, Agroecology Commons, Providence Farm Collective and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, the Minnesota-based group. That earlier ruling also directed USDA to turn over records on how it decided which grants to cancel. Howell wrote that those records show USDA's termination process largely involved searching grant documents for language associated with diversity, equity, inclusion or climate change. ADVERTISEMENT USDA had argued the court lacked jurisdiction over the claims and that the land-access program's statutory language addressed farmers' financial status rather than race or other protected classifications. Howell rejected both arguments, citing her earlier rulings in the case. The Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access program was created to help beginning and underserved farmers access land, capital and markets through down payment assistance, low-interest loans, technical assistance and other support. "The court's order reinstating $127 million in Increasing Land, Capital, and Market Access grants is a massive victory for the people across the U.S. who are building a fairer and more sustainable food system in their communities," said Hannah Wolf, a FarmSTAND staff attorney representing the plaintiff groups. Scott Carlson, executive director of Farmers Justice Center, one of the organizations representing the plaintiffs, said the ruling "protected farmers, rural America, and farm organizations" from the administration's actions. Discovery in the underlying case, including further USDA document production, continues through September.