Agriculture
The Trump administration froze $22 million in funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development for LSU's project to make crops more readily available to those at risk of hunger.
March 2025: Calcasieu Parish Schools Stated Trump USDA Cuts Would Reduce Amount Of Produce They Bought From Local Farmers. According to KPLC, "Two programs totaling over $1 billion in federal funding have been cut by the U.S Department of Agriculture. One of them is the Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program, which provided around $660 million in funding for schools across the U.S to buy food from local farmers. Calcasieu Parish Schools received $100,000 in funding through the Local Food for Schools Program to purchase foods from local farmers. While cuts to the program won’t affects schools' ability to feed students, Calcasieu Schools Nutrition Program Director Jacqueline Richard says it will reduce the amount of locally-sourced products they serve. Over the past two years, they’ve used the funding to purchase food like cucumbers, strawberries, satsumas, ground beef and rice from Louisiana farmers. 'We used all the funds that we had available. We used them well. We built relationships with local farmers, and local vendors, and we’re really proud of the work we did to bring local foods to our students in Calcasieu,' Richard said." [KPLC, 3/14/25]
February 2025: Trump Administration Froze $22 Million In USAID Funding For LSU’s Research Initiative To Help Louisiana Farmers Grow More Resilient Crops. According to Louisiana Illuminator, "A $22 million project involving the LSU AgCenter has been paused while the Trump administration reviews spending at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). LSU is part of the Feed the Future Climate Resilient Cereals Innovational Lab, which researchers at Kansas State University lead. It seeks to make cereal crops – such as rice, wheat, miller and sorghum – more readily available to those at risk of hunger, according to an AgCenter blog post. 'As a result of the recent Executive Orders, the federal government is currently reviewing expenditures, and this project has been placed on hold,' LSU AgCenter spokeswoman Tobie Blanchard said in a statement to the Illuminator. 'As a contractor on this initiative, we are awaiting further guidance.' Projects seeking to breed climate-resilient crops are among the staples of the LSU AgCenter. While the Feed the Future project has an international focus, the school’s emphasis on climate-resilient crops also benefits Louisiana farmers whose lands are regularly impacted by hurricanes and other extreme weather events." [Louisiana Illuminator, 2/6/25]
February 2025: Louisiana Farmers Reported Losing Millions Of Dollars After Trump Cuts And Layoffs.
April 2025: Trump Administration Fired Every Staffer In Office That Manages Program Helping 103,000 Households In Louisiana Pay Their Heating And Cooling Bill. According to KPLC, "Concerns over the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, better known as LIHEAP, are growing after federal workers were laid off earlier this week. It’s a program that has long helped millions of low-income households that have struggled to cover their energy costs. The program provides heating and cooling assistance to 103,000 households in Louisiana. In Calcasieu Parish that number is 6,000. With the entire 10-person federal LIHEAP staff now cut, questions about the program’s operations and funding are growing. 'The information being received right now is still very fresh, as far as what our particulars are on the different executive orders that are being issued by our current administration,' Erika Garrison, assistant director of the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury’s Department of Human Services, said." [KPLC, 4/3/25]
February 2025: Trump Administration Cancelled Grant To Help New Orleans Communities Repair Local Environment After Hurricane Katrina. According to AP News, "Arthur Johnson has lived in New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward for nearly three decades, long enough to appreciate the trees that filter pollution from the big ships traveling the nearby Mississippi River and that offer shade on sweltering summer days. When Hurricane Katrina roared through two decades ago, it wiped out 200,000 trees across the city, including many in Johnson’s neighborhood and several in his own yard. The city has struggled ever since to restore its tree canopy. Those efforts will be set back by the U.S. Forest Service’s decision in mid-February to terminate a $75 million grant to the Arbor Day Foundation, which was working to plant trees in neighborhoods that might not otherwise be able to afford them. The program is the latest victim of a drive by President Donald Trump’s administration against environmental justice initiatives. In New Orleans, part of the money was going to the environmental group Sustaining Our Urban Landscape (SOUL), which has planted more than 1,600 trees in the historically Black community but has now paused plans for another 900. Those are trees that largely low-income residents otherwise couldn’t afford to plant or maintain, said the 71-year-old Johnson, who runs a local nonprofit, the Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development, that has helped SOUL with its work and done some tree plantings of its own in the area. 'You’re not just cutting out the tree, the environment' with such cuts, said Johnson. If those trees aren’t replaced and more aren’t continually added, 'it really takes a toll on the sustainability of the Lower 9th Ward and its community.'" [AP News, 3/1/25]
February 2025: Trump Spending Freeze Threatened Viability Of Environmental Protection Programs In New Orleans. According to WWL Louisiana, "City leaders are scrambling to find a solution as President Donald Trump's freeze on federal funding for environmental programs put millions of dollars for local projects at risk, according to NOLA.com. These include initiatives for coastal restoration, energy efficiency, bike infrastructure, and electric vehicle charging stations. Local nonprofits also face major cuts, with some fearing they'll be forced to shut down without the critical funds." [WWL Louisiana, 2/12/25]
March 2025: Trump Administration Rescinded Roughly $55 Million In Funding For Louisiana Public Health Agencies Including Mental Health And Substance Use Treatment Programs. According to WWNO, "The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services appears to have abruptly slashed over $55 million in grants to the Louisiana Department of Health, according to a review of the Department of Government Efficiency website run by Elon Musk. The figure is five times the amount estimated by Deputy Secretary Dr. Pete Croughan earlier this week. The cuts target mental health and substance use programs, including crisis services, according to Louisiana health officials. The apparent cuts range from more than $18 million slashed from one grant to $333,011 sliced from another. In total, a WWNO/WRKF review of the DOGE website found $55,844,936 in cuts across 11 federal grants to Louisiana’s health department, though the site has previously posted inaccurate and inflated data. All of the cuts listed on the DOGE site were dated March 23." [WWNO, 3/27/25]
April 2025: Trump Administration Cancelled Over $700 Million In Funding For Louisiana Storm Recovery And Preparedness Programs. According to KATC, "President Donald Trump's administration has ended a FEMA program heavily relied upon by Louisiana that paid to elevate homes, build levees and do other work to lessen damage from storms, calling it 'wasteful and ineffective,' our media partners at The Advocate report. The end of the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, called BRIC, effectively spikes 148 applications worth $721,281,559 in Louisiana, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's financial obligations database. Louisiana, California and New York collectively receive about half of the program's total budget, the newspaper reports. The video player is currently playing an ad. You can skip the ad in 5 sec with a mouse or keyboard The Advocate reports that FEMA has stopped accepting applications for 2024 and is canceling projects on the drawing board from 2020 to 2023. Approved grant funds that have not been distributed will be returned to the Disaster Relief Fund or the U.S. Treasury, according to FEMA. Plus, the agency is looking for ways to claw back money already paid out. For Louisiana, that could translate to about $282 million, the newspaper reports." [KATC, 4/9/25]
HEADLINE: “Louisiana Officials Lament Trump Administration’s Cuts To FEMA Grant Programs For Storm Impacts.” [WVUE, 4/9/25]