HARLINGEN, Texas - Salomon Torres is president of Harlingen-based Soluciones Consulting, and projects and grants advisor to Holistic Organic Practical Education (H.O.P.E.) for Small Farm Sustainability.
He held a press conference with HOPE recently to protest a decision by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to terminate a $7.4 million grant.
He also participated in a Q&A with Ron Whitlock Reports on the subject. Here it is:
Q) When did you apply for the grant from USDA?
A) HOPE applied in October 2022. USDA made selections in June 2023. However, the agency did not finalize the grant agreement until April 2024.
Q) When did the money arrive?
A) The entire grant was on a reimbursement basis. We did not get advance funds. Some funds were advanced in 2024-2025 to pay for start-up costs such as hiring farming site coordinators and required travel expenses.
Q) How much of it has been spent?
A) We are updating the figures right now for the appeal we will be submitting to USDA.
Q) Do you think the grant was biased towards minority applicants?
A) No. The purpose of the grant was to support individuals to farm for the first time or to keep farming in three regions of Texas, including the Rio Grande Valley. No emphasis was placed on minorities. The emphasis was on small-scale farmers with no focus on ethnicity, race, gender, or age.
Q) If it was biased towards minorities, is there anything wrong with that?
A) This is a regional project that covers mixed populations. Our focus was small farming. Under the grant, the farming sites in Cameron and Hidalgo County would likely involve a higher percentage of Hispanics than other groups. That is not by design, but by the demographics of our region. The opposite is true in Kaufman County. Most participants would likely be Anglos with some Blacks and Hispanics. Again, the participation mix is driven by the demographics of the geographic location.
Q) What do you think of DEI? Were you expecting USDA to reverse their decision/were you shocked?
A) HOPE does not have a DEI history. DEI may have been used as an excuse to cancel grants. The purpose of the land access grants was to promote the growth of small-scale agriculture and to improve our domestic production of food. They were not designed to give any particular group any advantage over others. We were surprised by the cancellations because we were partnering with the federal government to champion family farms and smaller producers.
Q) I understand you are going to appeal? How will you do this?
A) We cannot just accept the grant termination. Canceling our grant without allowing HOPE for Small Farm Sustainability to prove our project plan can work is just not right. We need to address the needs of disadvantaged small farmers.
We will submit a written request to USDA for reconsideration of their cancellation of the HOPE award. We will coordinate this appeal with Congressman Vicente Gonzalez and other members of U.S. House that represent districts in Central Texas and North Texas that are being denied the benefits of this federal assistance due to the USDA grant termination. We will also seek the assistance of U.S. Senator John Cornyn to help us present this appeal to the appropriate officials at USDA.
Q) Anything else you would like to say?
A) HOPE is committed to create new small producers, to enhance the ability of current farmers to stay in agriculture, and to keep farmland as working land. If that means finding other sources of financial support, then that is something we will pursue. In the meantime, we are confident that if we are given the opportunity to explain our work plan and intent of our Texas Victory Farms project, then USDA will give serious consideration to reinstate this critical funding dedicated to small farm sustainability.
