Our Farmers and Neighbors Need Your Voice, Now More than Ever
In much of the country, spring is on its way. For farmers and ranchers, it’s time for planting decisions, for calving and lambing, for lining up their financial capital and markets for a busy season, and more.
But this year, it’s different: across the country, tens of thousands of farmers and farmer-serving organizations have been thrown into limbo by an unprecedented freeze of federal funding. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is currently withholding payments owed under signed, lawful contracts, causing turmoil across the food system.
This is already causing serious harm in our communities: This means farmers who’ve already installed new irrigation equipment or planted cover crops with support from USDA are now unable to receive the reimbursements they were promised, jeopardizing their financial stability. Programs that pair local farmers with local food banks are pausing their procurement plans, at the exact time growers most need to know their markets for the season. Organizations who train and support beginning farmers are instead having to lay off staff. Families are anxious about grocery store prices and the availability of food long term. These immediate impacts could compound and lead to further suffering without swift intervention from Congress.
None of this should be happening: these are signed agreements with the federal government, and USDA must honor its commitments before impacts worsen in communities nationwide. Congress can act to fix this, and they need to hear directly from folks who are affected – along with all of us who care about our local farmers and ranchers, our fellow neighbors, and the organizations that help us strengthen our communities.
Sending an email takes only 60 seconds: can you email your members of Congress demanding they step up and protect our farmers and communities from further harm?
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