A Year of Scorched Earth at USDA With Mass Firings, Canceled Grants and Reorganization

DOGE Cancels 55 Wasteful Contracts Valued at $863 Million In Past 5 Days

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) said that federal agencies have terminated or scaled back 55 contracts over the past five days, eliminating an estimated $261 million in spending tied to what the task force described as wasteful or duplicative services. The canceled and descoped contracts had a combined ceiling value of $863 million, DOGE said in a Dec. 22 social media post announcing its latest update. Among the terminated agreeme…

A Year of Scorched Earth at USDA With Mass Firings, Canceled Grants and Reorganization

The No. 7 article of DTN's Top Ag Stories of 2025 revisits how the Trump administration used its DOGE initiative to slash government spending and eliminate staff. Agriculture and farmers were in the middle of the fallout as contracts were canceled or checks delayed while thousands of employees left USDA.