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- By Chez Oxendine
- Food | Agriculture
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has reinstated 24 land access grants totaling $127 million, including awards to two Native-led organizations, following a federal court order.
Judge Beryl Howell on June 30 granted a preliminary injunction ordering USDA to restore the grants while litigation continues. The plaintiffs include Four Bands Community Fund, a Native community development financial institution (CDFI) based in Eagle Butte, S.D., and NDN Collective, a Rapid City, S.D.-based nonprofit. The Native-serving nonprofits were among the two-dozen organizations that joined the lawsuit in May, expanding the case to 29 plaintiffs challenging USDA grant terminations.
USDA told the court Friday that it had reinstated the grants and notified recipients that the previous terminations would have no effect. In an example letter filed with the court, the agency said Farm Service Agency staff would contact recipients in the coming week to discuss their projects and the status of activities covered by the restored awards.
Four Bands’ grant is intended to help agricultural producers across 20 tribal reservations in the Mountain Plains region overcome barriers to land and capital. NDN Collective’s grant supports restoration work and debt reduction tied to the Pine Creek Ranch Land and Water Conservation Project in Nevada, with a goal of returning the land to Shoshone and Paiute communities.
Howell found the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in showing USDA acted contrary to law in terminating the grants and that they faced irreparable harm. The court also found the balance of the equities and the public interest favored restoring the awards.
The lawsuit, filed in June 2025, challenges grant cancellations that followed Trump administration executive orders targeting climate initiatives and diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility programs. Plaintiffs argued USDA and the Department of Government Efficiency unlawfully terminated awards by searching grant documents for references to climate change or DEI and treating them as grounds for cancellation.
The 24 reinstated grants support land access, farmer training, infrastructure and market development projects led by nonprofits and local governments across the country.
Hannah Wolf, a FarmSTAND staff attorney and counsel for the plaintiffs, said last week that the court’s ruling restores funding for land access and agricultural projects and reinforces USDA’s obligation to serve all farmers and ranchers.
“It cannot diminish services to certain farmers by invoking phrases like ‘illegal DEI,’” Wolf said.
The program was designed to help beginning and underserved producers secure land, capital, and markets through down payment assistance, low-interest loans, equipment, training, and other support.
Brian Edwards contributed reporting.
