AMNA NAWAZ: Since taking office in January, the Trump administration has moved to cancel or freeze trillions in federal funding.

That includes billions in funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

William Brangham is back now with this report on how the funding freeze is affecting farmers.

SCOTT MUNRO, Farmer: They decided that was the best place.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Right.

SCOTT MUNRO: It gets a lot of sun there.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: These brand-new solar panels on Scott Munro's farm are now up and running.

SCOTT MUNRO: It shows production a daily basis.

If the sun stays out, we will have good production today.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: That energy powers Munro's shop and his grain dryer, which uses a lot of electricity, processing the 1,200 acres of corn, soy and wheat that he grows here in Central Pennsylvania.

SCOTT MUNRO: In the peak months, we can have bills $3,000 to $5,000 a month.

And we thought that this solar project would be the way to maybe help us with that.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: To offset the cost of building the solar array, in 2023, Munro applied for a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant under its Rural Energy for America Program.

If the grant program hadn't existed, do you think you would have put this solar array in?

SCOTT MUNRO: We weren't going to do the project if we didn't get the grant.

So that's where we... (CROSSTALK) WILLIAM BRANGHAM: I see.

He got one for $94,000, which covers about 40 percent of the cost.

The way the grant is structured, Munro pays for the whole project up front.

But after 30 days of operation, which he's hit, he's supposed to receive the grant money.

But that is currently frozen.

SCOTT MUNRO: It's in limbo.

Are we going to end up footing the whole bill, which isn't really what we signed up for, or is it going to come through down the road and we're going to get the grant money?

We just don't know at this point.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: And how does that feel?

SCOTT MUNRO: Not very good.

(LAUGHTER) SCOTT MUNRO: Kind of cheated.

Like, that's what we signed up for.

And now you're saying that's not what we're going to get.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: While this grant program has existed since 2002, the funding for Munro's project and many others like it came from President Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In all, that law allocated nearly $38 billion over 10 years to the USDA.

BROOKE ROLLINS, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture: I, of course, am hyperfocused on our ag producers.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In February, President Trump's agriculture secretary, Brooke Rollins, announced that some funding would be released, but that -- quote -- "USDA continues to review IRA funding to ensure that programs are focused on supporting farmers and ranchers, not DEIA programs or far left climate programs."

SCOTT MUNRO: I get if your policies are different than the previous administration.

I understand that.

And going forward, if you want to change that, feel free.

That's your -- you're in charge now.

You do that.

But to take something away that's already been granted just doesn't seem fair to us.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: According to one analysis, there are over 2,000 energy projects around the country like Scott Munro's that have been promised federal funds, but now face this uncertain future.

And that's not the only USDA grant program that's currently on hold.

HANNAH SMITH-BRUBAKER, Pasa Sustainable Agriculture: If this -- if the climate smart program does get canceled... WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Hannah Smith-Brubaker runs Sustainable Agriculture.

In 2023, this Pennsylvania nonprofit received a USDA Climate-Smart grant worth up to $55 million over five years to work with farms across 15 Eastern states on environmentally sustainable practices.

HANNAH SMITH-BRUBAKER: For the first time, small, midsize, highly diversified farms, farms that are farming in a way that really are responsive to the ecological needs around them were really getting noticed.

And dollars were starting to be directed their way.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: But now that funding is abruptly on hold.

HANNAH SMITH-BRUBAKER: Those farmers trusted that the agreement they had with us and that we have with the federal government was unquestionable.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Right.

You signed contracts.

HANNAH SMITH-BRUBAKER: Exactly.

It's heartbreaking to tell a farmer who is counting on it, and the season doesn't wait and the climate doesn't wait.

WILL BROWNBACK, Farmer, Spiral Path Farm: Within that handful, we have our typical blend of rye, vetch, and clover.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Second-generation organic farmer Will Brownback is showing off his cover crop, which is an off season planting to protect his lands.

Oh, and, look, got ladybug right in there.

WILL BROWNBACK: Yes, look at that.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: His farm has done this for years, but was supported last year by a Pasa grant.

WILL BROWNBACK: Not something that we're making direct money off of, but it helps stabilize the soil, provides habitat, eliminates erosion.

It's really disappointing that some farmers who want to be able to do this on their farms, but need a little bit of help to get going with it are unable to do it right now.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In Northeast Pennsylvania, Liz Krug is the co-owner of Endless Roots Farm, which grows vegetables year-round on about 10 acres.

Her farm is also a recipient of a Pasa climate grant.

LIZ KRUG, Owner, Endless Roots Farm: It was financially helping some of the practices we had already been doing.

Looking forward, it was helping to fund some projects that maybe were a bit financially out of our reach.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: That includes adding new cash crops in the future, like blueberries.

Without the grant, that's a stretch for a small farm working on leased land.

LIZ KRUG: I'm not saying that it's completely out of the picture without this grant.

It would just... WILLIAM BRANGHAM: It's just a riskier proposition.

LIZ KRUG: Right.

It would just take us a lot longer to decide that we would want to do that.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: In April, Hannah Smith-Brubaker's organization will be furloughing almost all its employees.

And last week, it joined a new lawsuit against the Trump administration.

On top of grants being frozen, she says the recent decision by USDA to cancel $1 billion in funding for schools and food banks to buy food locally directly impacts farmers.

HANNAH SMITH-BRUBAKER: It just seems like, at every turn, regardless of how honestly you engage in securing the funding or stewarding the funding, it's just disappearing.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Members of this administration argue that, look, priorities are changed now.

They argue that some of these types of programs are DEI or left-wing climate initiatives.

What do you say to that?

HANNAH SMITH-BRUBAKER: They're out of touch with reality.

Farmers are dealing with the climate every single day.

They are desperate for help.

So, if we're serving farmers, listen to the farmers.

This is what the farmers want.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Back at Scott Munro's farm, he's hoping the grant he was awarded for his solar project comes through, but he's not counting on it.

SCOTT MUNRO: Maybe they will calm down and realize some of the things they did are hurting people whom a lot of people in that industry voted for them.

So... WILLIAM BRANGHAM: If the grant doesn't come, Munro will have to swallow the almost $100,000 he's already spent.

In the meantime, spring is here and it's nearly time to start planting.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm William Brangham in rural Pennsylvania.