08/04/2026
You might have heard that with the help of Public Citizen, FarmSTAND, and EarthJustice, we have joined as one of five plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the USDA aiming to overturn vague and unlawful terms of a federal grant we were awarded late last year.
For more than 25 years, Washington Farmland Trust has protected and stewarded thousands of acres of farmland across the state. In 2018, in direct response to one of the top challenges faced by farmers, we launched Farm to Farmer to help more growers find land and be successful – because without people to care for it, farmland simply isn’t farmland.
Last September, as a result of months of hard work from our staff, we were awarded a three-year, $676,000 federal grant from the USDA to expand the critical work of our Farm to Farmer program, the first major public investment in our land access work and a catalytic launchpad for Washington farmers.
After months of stalled funds due to the government shutdown earlier this year, we were finally ready to put these federal dollars to work in March 2026, until we learned of new USDA terms and conditions that were updated effective December 31, 2025. Upon careful review of the terms and after many discussions with our staff, board, and legal team, it became clear that the terms would require our organization to comply with vague and unlawful policies relating to immigration, gender ideology, and diversity, equity, and inclusion; policies that have nothing to do with helping farmers. Complying with these terms would not only put us in direct conflict with our values and commitments to equitable land access, but it would expose us to unnecessary legal risk.
When faced with the impossible choice of pulling back from our mission-critical work or losing out on catalytic funding that would help us better serve our communities, we chose to stand with our values.
Head to the link below to read our message to the community about this issue, read the press release, and learn how you can stand with us to help farmers.
https://wafarmlandtrust.org/blog/washington-farmland-trust-joins-lawsuit-against-usda/
