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By Leah Douglas
(Reuters) - A U.S. Department of Agriculture investigation into the agency's funding for the University of Maine could compromise research on biofuels, vegetables, and "forever chemicals" that have been polluting the state, said an advocate and a state lawmaker.
USDA announced the investigation Friday after President Donald Trump clashed with Governor Janet Mills over the administration's order banning transgender athletes from women's sports, threatening to withhold federal funds from the state.
Projects funded by the USDA at the University of Maine include research on animal health, renewable fuels, and fruits and vegetables grown in the state like blueberries and potatoes, according to agency award data and websites reviewed by Reuters.
"If all of their funding was removed from USDA, that would have a really big impact on farmers on the ground here," said Sarah Alexander, executive director of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association.
The USDA last year also granted the university $17 million to establish a center to study farm contamination by per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, known commonly as "forever chemicals" because they don't break down quickly. Maine has led a national effort to study the human and animal health effects of PFAS contamination on farms.
The research conducted at the university is typical of land-grant universities, which are located on federally owned land and support agricultural research, said Chellie Pingree, a Maine Democrat in the House of Representatives.
"People have always assumed USDA funding would be the kind of thing that no administration would ever touch, because who wants to make the farmers in your state or in your country angry?" Pingree told Reuters.
A USDA spokesperson said the agency's active awards to the university total more than $100 million.
Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said any institutions that do not comply with Trump's executive order "can count on losing future funding."The USDA is also considering reviewing its funding to other Maine schools, said a February 22 letter to Mills, the university chancellor, and the state's attorney general.
(Reporting by Leah Douglas in Washington; additional reporting by P.J. Huffstutter in Chicago; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
