Local farmers anxious amid growing concerns over federal funding freeze

SUN JOURNAL • February 27, 2025

The trees are felled in an area set aside for a small solar array scheduled to be installed in June. The grant contract is signed, the loan for the balance is approved and the down payment has been paid. Seren and Steve Sinisi own and operate Old Crow Ranch and a farm store in Durham, a pasture-based livestock farm. President Donald Trump has issued a memo directing federal agencies to freeze federal financial assistance programs. The Sinisis are more than concerned. They are anxious, even angry. In a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, Maine Agriculture Commissioner Amanda Beal said, “The continued delay of these funds could have significant economic consequences for Maine’s agricultural sector, which operates on tight margins and depends on timely financial support to sustain operations.”