2026 Senate Resolution 133

Whereas, Concerned farmers and energy industry leaders across Michigan are calling for accountability and relief from the Trump Administration and USDA after they refused to honor their agreements to help famers with projects to reduce energy costs; and

Whereas, REAP is a USDA grant program that provides opportunities to family agribusinesses looking to make their energy systems more efficient and affordable. REAP serviced family farms and agribusinesses with renewable energy costs for the last 24 years, including throughout the first Trump Administration, but is now being dismantled by the Trump Administration via USDA; and

Whereas, The USDA had approved numerous clean energy projects for Michigan agribusinesses, amounting to millions of dollars in investment to reduce farmers’ energy costs. However, on August 18, 2025, USDA announced it would no longer honor its financial commitments to those projects, particularly those involving solar energy, leaving numerous REAP energy projects incomplete, costing Michigan farmers millions of dollars. Additional, broader cancellations were announced in April 2026; and

Whereas, Before a single solar project began, each of these agribusinesses completed and signed binding federal documents at USDA’s direction and on USDA’s timeline. Each business submitted a Letter of Conditions, a Letter of Intent to Meet Conditions, a Request for Obligation of Funds, federal certifications, and civil-rights assurance agreements; and

Whereas, The Trump Administration and USDA committed this funding to Michigan’s farmers for such energy projects, and Michigan’s farmers relied on this commitment, spending their own money and taking out loans for the project costs with the understanding that they would be reimbursed; and

Whereas, The businesses impacted by the Trump Administration’s actions include Michigan’s oldest farm, Westcroft Gardens and Farm, which has been owned and operated by the same family since 1776. In 2024, USDA approved a REAP grant for a Westcroft project that would have reduced the farm’s energy costs, strengthened its financial future, and supported Michigan’s agricultural economy. In April 2026, USDA cancelled the grant, forcing the farm to absorb its investment costs and time for a project that it could no longer afford; and

Whereas, The Trump Administration’s failure to honor its promises has turned a program designed to help farmers save on energy costs and grow their business into something that could financially ruin them; and

Whereas, The clean energy projects under REAP which have been ripped away by the Trump Administration would provide real financial relief to Michigan farmers, who are now paying the price of skyrocketing monthly energy bills, high fuel and fertilizer costs from the Iran War, and tariffs that diminish their profit on the crops they export; and

Whereas, Michigan’s farmers are essential to our economy yet are amongst those hit the hardest by the Trump Administration’s reckless policies, through both energy efficiency costs rollbacks and tariffs. Farmers create Michigan’s second-most profitable industry, contributing approximately 126 billion dollars annually, feeding millions globally, and supporting more than 800,000 jobs statewide; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate, That the members of this legislative body call on the Trump Administration and USDA to reverse irresponsible energy decisions that are costing Michigan’s farmers millions of dollars and urge them to swiftly restore funding to farmers paying for projects they began in good faith after promises of USDA assistance; and be it further

Resolved, That we call upon Michigan’s congressional delegation to press the USDA to provide the legal basis for refusing to execute Financial Assistance Agreements, to reimburse projects that are started or completed under established program timelines and examine whether withholding these obligated funds is consistent with the Impoundment Control Act of 1974; and be it further

Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, and members of the Michigan congressional delegation.