A U.S. Department of Agricultural (USDA) grant of over $320,000 to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences was canceled last week, according to a post on X by Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins. 

The grant to the Department of Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology “aims to enhance diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) within Integrated Pest Management (IPM),” according to the summary of the grant that began in September 2023. “Acknowledging potential historical exclusion, the Regional IPM Centers align with the USDA priorities to advance racial justice.”

“Look what we just found (and cancelled!): $324,671 grant for ‘Increasing DEIA Programming for Integrated Pest Management’ … you can’t make this up,” Rollins posted.

The USDA declined to comment and the Department of Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology redirected the Daily’s request to a university spokesperson.

“Research is foundational to Iowa State University’s land-grant mission and as a leading public research university,” according to a statement to the Daily from Lisa Schmitz.

Schmitz, a university communications specialist, also said the university is already working to comply with new federal guidance before the project’s funding was cut.

“One key source of funding for ISU research is the USDA, which last year provided nearly $49 million in funding to address solutions to improve the lives of people in Iowa and throughout the nation,” Schmitz stated. “Prior to last week’s social media post, the university had already been in the process of ensuring this integrated pest management (IPM) project was in compliance with new federal guidance.”

The grant is the only one that Rollins has posted about canceling and appears to be one of the latest grants impacted by DOGE, run by Elon Musk, who believes the program is identifying and cutting “waste and fraud.” Gov. Kim Reynolds signed an executive order to enact an Iowa “DOGE” task force, according to a press release from the Governor’s office.

DOGE had been at the USDA for “a couple of weeks,” according to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, and issued a press release that stated, “This is just the beginning.”

On Tuesday, DOGE launched an “agency efficiency leaderboard,” displaying how much each U.S. agency has saved. As of publication, DOGE claims it has saved U.S. taxpayers $65 billion.

Live update from our @DOGE_USDA team’s meeting tonight

Look what we just found (and cancelled!): $324,671 grant for “Increasing DEIA Programming for Integrated Pest Management” … you can’t make this up‍♀️

cc: @DOGE @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/GOaYpIeM13

— Secretary Brooke Rollins (@SecRollins) February 21, 2025