The review, prompted by new Executive Orders and overseen by Elon Musk’s newly rebranded Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has also frozen all USAID activities and placed federal hires on leave. This funding freeze is particularly impactful for land-grant universities like LSU, which play a crucial role in agricultural science and local extension programs.
LSU AgCenter hunger project ‘on hold’ amid USAID freeze
by Piper Hutchinson, Louisiana Illuminator
February 6, 2025
A $22 million project involving the LSU AgCenter has been paused while the Trump administration reviews spending at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
LSU is part of the Feed the Future Climate Resilient Cereals Innovational Lab, which researchers at Kansas State University lead. It seeks to make cereal crops – such as rice, wheat, miller and sorghum – more readily available to those at risk of hunger, according to an AgCenter blog post.
“As a result of the recent Executive Orders, the federal government is currently reviewing expenditures, and this project has been placed on hold,” LSU AgCenter spokeswoman Tobie Blanchard said in a statement to the Illuminator. “As a contractor on this initiative, we are awaiting further guidance.”
All work at USAID, an independent national agency that oversees distribution of foreign aid, has been halted, and all direct hires have been placed on leave pending a review by Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency. The tech billionaire has been granted unprecedented access to the federal government after President Donald Trump rebranded the existing U.S. Digital Office, which former President Barack Obama created, to DOGE through an executive order. Democrats have challenged whether it’s legal for Musk or the renamed department to make such sweeping changes.
Among the casualties of DOGE’s funding freeze are millions of dollars paid to land-grant universities, many in Republican-led states such as Louisiana.
Among the key roles of land-grant universities, which include LSU and Southern University, is advancing agricultural science and working directly with farmers through local extension programs.
Projects seeking to breed climate-resilient crops are among the staples of the LSU AgCenter. While the Feed the Future project has an international focus, the school’s emphasis on climate-resilient crops also benefits Louisiana farmers whose lands are regularly impacted by hurricanes and other extreme weather events.
Research universities bring in millions of dollars annually in federal research funding, which in turn compensate thousands of graduate students and other local employees, creating an economic impact throughout the state.
The uncertainty of future funding as newly-installed Trump officials seek to slash spending has put many in higher education ill at ease.
Louisiana has three universities with the top research designation: LSU, Tulane and the University of Louisiana Lafayette. Three other universities — Southern, Louisiana Tech and the University of New Orleans — have the second highest designation.
In sum, Louisiana universities spend hundreds of millions of dollars on research, much of which various federal agencies fund.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.
YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE.
Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.
The LSU AgCenter’s research on climate-resilient crops is vital for both international food security and Louisiana farmers, who face frequent weather-related challenges. The uncertainty surrounding federal funding has raised concerns about the future of academic research and local economies supported by federal grants. Critics question the legality of DOGE’s sweeping changes and the potential long-term damage to vital research initiatives.
