Steve Sinisi of Old Crow Ranch in Durham was among dozens of farmers who paraded through the streets of Augusta on Wednesday on tractors bearing signs like “Support Farmers, Not Billionaires” and “Compost Trump.”

The more than 100 farmers and supporters were there to protest the millions of dollars in federal cuts to agricultural grants and programs and raise awareness about the impacts they would have on their farms and livelihoods.

On a sunny spring day, Sinisi said he should instead have been working on the farm, which raises pasture-grazed beef, pork and chicken.

“It’s a great time to get to work but the fact that we left our farms and came here today says something,” he said. “Unpredictability in agriculture: it does not work that way.”

Sinisi said he invested about $35,000 into a solar project to make his farm more sustainable after signing contracts with the U.S. Department of Agriculture last year. Now, the future of that contract and his reimbursement are in doubt.

Farmers across the state and country are living with the same uncertainty after the USDA cut several programs that have provided millions of dollars and critical support to Maine farms.

Among the sources of funding under threat is the Natural Resource Conservation Service’s Environmental Quality Incentives Program, a cost-share program that helps integrate conservation practices into working lands. It is funded through two sources, the Farm Bill and the Inflation Reduction Act, the latter of which the Trump administration has tried to freeze.

“Our farms here in Maine who produce the actual food we eat are going to be left high and dry if we don’t get these USDA programs reinstated,” said Sarah Alexander, executive director of the Maine Organic Farmers and Growers Association.

This week, USDA also ended the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program, which has provided over $477 million to help Maine farms subsidize projects focused on integrating climate-smart agriculture and forestry practices.

In the announcement, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said the program “was largely built to advance the green new scam at the benefit of NGOs, not American farmers,” and said “select projects may continue if it is demonstrated that a significant amount of the federal funds awarded will go to farmers.”

U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, who owns an organic farm on North Haven, marched alongside the protesters to the State House, holding a sign that read, “Support Maine farms.”

Addressing the crowd after, she thanked those who showed up and assured them she was advocating for farmers whose contracts had been abruptly terminated. Pingree said she routinely submits a list of all federal cuts to the chair of the House Agriculture Committee, on which she serves, and said she will continue to do so until the money returns to Maine.

She criticized recent USDA staff reductions, noting that many of the laid-off workers had provided crucial technical support to Maine farmers.

“Really, what is wrong with the USDA?” she asked. “What is wrong with this administration to say they believe in farmers — yet they are breaking these contracts?”

“People need to understand exactly what’s going on. Being here, talking to your friends and neighbors, is making a difference.”

Small farms are the target of these cuts, said Michael Levine who owns Avalon Acres in Hollis. He was expecting to receive $2,500 through the Climate-Smart program before it got cut, which would have been used for compost and organic supplements.

Last August, he got certified through USDA as an organic producer. However, he said that had he known a USDA cost share program that helps farmers obtain supplies would also be at risk, he would never have paid the fees to get certified.

Avalon Acres had been expecting $750 through the cost share program, which he said “would not have been a small amount for us.”

Levine said he was also exploring partnerships with his local school district to provide local produce for school meals. However, earlier this year, USDA canceled the Local Food Purchasing Assistance program that would have provided $1.25 million to Maine over the next three years for food banks to source fresh food from local producers.

“The uncertainty rippling through our food system is real,” said Maine Sen. Stacy Brenner (D-Cumberland), who owns Broadturn Farm in Scarborough and serves as president of Maine Farmland Trust.

“Programs that farmers and communities count on are at risk, and we know the burden lands on those who are already doing the hardest work.”