In today’s newscast:
USDA judge rules the termination of a local grant was unjustified
A judge has ruled the U.S. Department of Agriculture did not have the right to cancel a local research grant last April.
The decision this week came after Cal State Monterey Bay researchers appealed the termination.
“The outcome being argued was that our grant be reinstated or that we'd be compensated for our losses,” said Stefanie Kortman, one of the researchers.
Kortman and her colleague Arlene Haffa, along with researchers at UC Davis, received the $5 million USDA grant in 2023.
It allowed them to measure the benefits of sustainable agricultural practices on a research plot, and to pay 25 local farmers to try them.
When the Trump administration cancelled the grant, funding for those farmers dried up.
Kortman says she and her colleagues scrambled and were able to continue the research part of the project.
“We've actually shoe-stringed along a very creative assemblage of other funding sources,” she said.
Those sources include a grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture that has allowed them to continue measuring the effects of climate-friendly agricultural practices on crop yields.
“We are now at the point of data collection that exceeds any other effort I've been involved with,” Kortman said.
Still, the ruling this week could be a big deal.
“ If the money did get reinstated from the USDA, then that would allow us to continue this without having to look for other funding constantly,” Kortman said.
But, the USDA can request a review of the judge’s ruling, so it’s still not clear if or when the grant will be reinstated.
Cal State Monterey Bay holds the broadcast license for KAZU.
May Day events on the Central Coast
Several May Day events are planned Friday across the Monterey Bay Area in support of worker and immigrant rights.
Rallies and protests are scheduled in Seaside, Watsonville, Santa Cruz and Hollister, among other places.
