LESTER HOLT: With the president's freeze on certain federal funding, some farmers aren't getting critical government grants that they were counting on. They tell Emily Ikeda they're struggling to pay their bills.
KEVIN LEAVITT: There's about 100 of them out there.
EMILY IKEDA: Kevin Leavitt hoped these solar panels would help his Maine farm flourish.
LEAVITT: The hope here is these panels will produce enough electricity that the farm needs all year long.
IKEDA: He was only able to move forward with the pricey project because of a federal program that promised to shoulder roughly a third of the cost after completion. But the panels have been up and running for weeks, and no sign of the $45,000 he's been counting on from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Could you have ever imagined finding yourself in this position after taking on that agreement?
LEAVITT: No. But everything is in writing. Everything signed. You're stressed out. You're on edge. It has a toll on you.
IKEDA: President Trump has signed a flurry of executive orders pausing federal funding for review, including the Inflation Reduction Act, the climate initiative passed during the Biden administration. That has grant money built in for farmers like Leavitt to conserve soil, water, and energy.
FARMER: I can't get any answers....
IKEDA: Coast to coast, farmers who overwhelmingly supported Trump in November are voicing confusion and concern.
FARMER: I've already done a bunch of the work. Already paid for the material. Already paid for the labor, so I'm out all that cost...
USDA SPOKESPERSON: It's going to reach into every state and every community nationwide. That's how far the reach of the Department of Agriculture is.
IKEDA: A USDA spokesperson says Secretary Rollins is aware farmers have been waiting on payments during this government review, and is working to make determinations as quickly as possible, citing plans to share information later this week. Until then:
What do you want people in Washington to know?
LEAVITT: Enforce the contract that they gave to us- that they gave to everybody else. And do what it says.