Kakadoodle Farm loses 220,000 US dollar scholar in the middle of the financing of freezing

Weeks after a family farm in Matteson has lost its entire herd of almost 3,000 chickens by bird flu, the owners learned that their federal financing is a pole barn in the floating.

The Kakadoodle farm owners Marikate and Marty Thomas were informed in October that they received a grant of 220,000 US dollars that they wanted to use to convert their Pole barn into a sales center in which they aggregate products from other farms and pack them for delivery to houses, said Marty Thomas.

The subsidy, part of the Resilient Food System Infrastructure program, was waiting for the approval of the US Ministry of Agriculture, said Thomas.

“We had really hoped after the bird flu had passed and we lost all of these income, we said:” Ok, but at least we’ll take these income, and then that won’t happen, “said Thomas.

The couple spent 80,000 US dollars to pour in concrete and set up the temperature control for the barn and switch to the reimbursement of the federal scholarship, said Thomas.

“We did the very naked minimum that we had to do with this barn, and it’s okay where it is. It is ready for operation, it is exactly like completed,” said Thomas.

The couple found out that the grant was in the balance after the USDA had stopped reimbursement for the local program to support food purchase and the resistant infrastructure program after the administration of President Donald Trump reduced the funding for the programs, the Ministry of Agriculture in Illinois announced in a press release at the beginning of March.

“I hope these freezing points will be canceled,” said Thomas. “These are good programs. Trump supported such programs in his last administration. I know that this is so different, but I don’t know, I have no choice but to be too hopeful about it.”

Without the federal funds, Thomas said the couple would not complete any renovation work.

“We have just received a blanket statement, as we have just learned with everyone else that the RFSI and the LFPA were both suspended,” said Thomas.

The Ministry of Agriculture was in the process of selecting scholarship holders for the RFSI program, which, according to the publication, would have provided 6.4 million US dollars for companies for companies.

Governor JB Pritzker called the programs in the programs as “slap in the face” to farmers in Illinois.

“The refusal of the Trump administration to publish Grant Funds not only harms farmers in the program, but also devastates our most endangered and with food companies that rely on meat, fresh products and other nutritious donations,” said the governor in the publication.

This week, the Ministry of Agriculture of the State of Jerry Costello II spoke the House Agriculture & Conservation Committee in Springfield in Springfield in order to discuss the effects of federal financing cuts and tariffs on farmers in Illinois, according to a press release.

“These are federal funds that have been adopted by the congress, a signed government branch that was signed in the law and promised farmers in Illinois,” said Costello. “They were cut without an explanation or timeline, and the farmers have to deal with the consequences.”

The resistant infrastructure program for food systems was developed to strengthen the center of the food supply chain by expanding the capacity for locally and regionally produced foods and offers better market opportunities and new sources of income for small and medium -sized agricultural producers, according to state agriculture.

The program requires farmers to collect preliminary investments in input costs, whereby the promise of scholarships in the reimbursement of this agricultural department promises. However, the program cannot operate without federal financing, they said.

While the couple is disappointed, Thomas said that he believes that their business can survive without government support.

“There is a silver strip for us, because now we are concentrated where we are exactly where we have to be, and that brings food directly to consumers,” he said. “2025 will be really difficult. We have to collect or borrow a significant amount of money in order to get through 2025 when the funds freeze. However, I am safer than ever in Kakadoodle.”

Although it was a significant success for the farm to lose its herd of 3,000 chickens against bird flu, which produced almost 24,000 eggs per week, Thomas said that the couple decided to stay optimistic, and received support from the community and a gofundme, which collected more than $ 50,000.

Although the farm is below a quarantine of 150 days and prevents it from expanding products or collecting new chickens by June, they continue to operate their online market.

Without access to federal funds, farmers have the opportunity to refine their business model and concentrate on making profits independently, said Thomas.

In 2026 he believes that Kakadoodle can operate without government aid.

“I’m very excited about it,” he said. “We have always taken care of taking government support, although it is grateful. There is this balance, but I always paid attention to not building our business in terms of government funds for programs.”

In 2020, farmers started as an online marketplace to deliver local food to the people’s house, inspired by Marty’s defeat against non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a kind of cancer that affects the lymphatic system.

Maricate Thomas previously informed the Southtown that the non-Hodgkin lymphoma is associated with glyphosate exposure, a common chemical in conventional agriculture. The Cleveland Clinic says that some studies indicate that agricultural workers who are exposed to high pesticide levels could be exposed to a slightly higher risk of cancer, although the risk of low or occasional exposure remains uncertain.

Your farm increases chemical and antibiotic chickens, and your chickens spend time on pastures, according to the Kakadoodle website.

Despite the difficulties, Thomas said that he was grateful for the support of the community, which has proven how much people take care of their farm and their products.

“This bird flu and this financing to freeze and everything, like the support of our community and our customers, was unreal, as if we were getting tears,” he said. “It is more than a food delivery service for you, you are so passionate about Kakadoodle.”

[email protected]

Originally published: March 14, 2025 at 14:46 PM CDT