Federal Cuts Undermine State Healthy Soil Efforts

By Robb Hirsch, co-founder of the NM Healthy Soil Working Group. This Op-Ed was published in the Albuquerque Journal
on April 13, 2025. A few corrections were made since the piece was originally submitted for publication.

The health of the soil reflects the health and security of our nation, but recent actions by the federal government to marginalize conservation programs, gut Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) staff and close offices, are putting all that in jeopardy. Many farmers and ranchers, who were awarded U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grants for soil and water stewardship projects on their working lands, were put in limbo, by not knowing for certain whether they would get the funding they were promised or by facing troubling delays in funding. This on-going uncertainty has put into question whether the government will honor its commitments. Last month, 35 NRCS staffers were fired in New Mexico, and there could be many more firings to come (some say as much as 25% of the staff could be cut).

This assault on conservation affects public health, because minimized soil health means minimized nutrients in the foods we eat. It also weakens the foundation of our rural communities, raises prices on consumers over time and makes us less resilient when it comes to infiltrating and holding water in the ground, making it more prone to flash flooding. The list of harms to the security and sacredness of life goes on when we waver on taking care of precious land and water resources that sustain us.

Investing in voluntary stewardship and safeguarding of the soil has always been and should always be bipartisan. Democrat President Franklin Roosevelt, in responding to the infamous Dust Bowl conditions of the 1930s, said, “The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself.” Likewise Republican President Ronald Reagan, who understood the value of soil and water conservation management to regenerate the land, said, “States and the federal government have a duty to protect our natural resources.” But that duty is now being betrayed with dire effects for drought-prone regions like ours.

The Land of Enchantment has been making important progress. Thanks to widespread stakeholder support, New Mexico is one of the states pioneering the establishment of a statewide healthy soil program which promulgates soil testing and research, interagency land management collaboration and a dynamic soil health grant program for producers and other eligible entities like soil and water conservation districts, tribes and pueblos, acequia associations and land grants. This state-based dedication to soil management is an important, evolving and critical tool for our future.

But recent actions by the new administration and prospective budget cuts to soil and water conservation programs jeopardize this progress. Partnerships and combined resources are necessary for optimizing full scale soil management. New Mexico’s Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund critically invests in the preservation of our natural resources but it is much more impactful when federal matching funds are surely provided. Furthermore New Mexico’s Healthy Soil Grant Program requires individuals and businesses who wish to apply to have a conservation plan from NRCS, but the mass firings at USDA mean there will likely not be enough local NRCS staff to handle the conservation planning that our people and the land need.

Now more than ever we can’t afford to go backward, so let’s together right the ship. We the people know that soil stewardship must be led locally and statewide, but to maximize impact we should simultaneously stand up for and call on our republic to not trample on us or the land but rather to help take care of the soil that takes care of us.

What You Can Do

Farm Commons Guides for Filing Appeals

These are free resources for both producers and the nonprofits that support them. You can download a PDF on legal action steps for farmers with signed contracts. It covers your rights to receive reimbursement and your ongoing obligations under the signed contract. You’ll also find instructions for filing appeals for frozen or terminated contracts.

My federal contract or grant for funding is frozen or terminated. What can I do?

National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Call to Action

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is currently withholding payments owed under signed, lawful contracts, causing turmoil across the food system. These are signed agreements with the federal government, and USDA must honor its commitments before impacts worsen in communities nationwide. Congress can act to fix this, and they need to hear directly from folks who are affected – along with all of us who care about our local farmers and ranchers, our fellow neighbors, and the organizations that help us strengthen our communities.

Email your members of Congress

Email your members of Congress, demanding they step up and protect our farmers and communities from further harm!