On Tuesday, the USDA’s Rural Business Cooperative Service released a stakeholder announcement that it will pause Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) awards until it updates regulations. The rule is being rewritten to comply with an executive order targeting wind and solar energy subsidies, which President Donald Trump signed in July 2025.

REAP has been a popular and largely bipartisan program that helps farmers lower energy costs. It provides grants and loans to farmers and small businesses in rural communities to install energy-efficient technologies, including solar and wind.

Since its creation more than 20 years ago, REAP has allowed for investments in over 22,000 renewable energy projects, according to a 2023 report by the Environmental Law and Policy Center (ELPC)—representing more than $10 billion in private investment in rural economies.

The pause in REAP processing comes as farmers and businesses struggle with rising energy costs, Matt Ohloff, an ELPC policy advocate, said in a statement.

“Failing to implement this program is only creating more hardship and uncertainty for farmers and rural small businesses,” he said.

Once the regulations are updated, the USDA intends to issue a new notice for funding opportunities, for which farmers must reapply. Until then, any applications are now on pause, the agency said.

There is no immediate timeline for updating the regulations, a USDA spokesperson said in an email.

“Bringing regulations in line with the Trump Administration’s priorities to end market-distorting subsidies for unreliable, foreign controlled energy sources is a top priority for the USDA,” the spokesperson said.