I called my legislators for the first time this week.

It made me squirm, and it made me nervous, and it took me a couple of tries to actually leave the messages.

It also didn’t give me that good dopamine hit I get from a response to the newsletter or a positive review – this felt more like brushing my teeth or doing a load of laundry. It’s another weekly task to complete as part of adulthood, another facet of growing up.

Why call? https://5calls.org/why-calling-works/

I spent a week tinkering with my own words to say, but there are a lot of scripts out there you can read and edit to fit your particular concerns.

And, yes. Many American farmers and farm-support related agencies are worried and already hurting.

While some funds have been released, others have been cut and abruptly, as well as the staff related to them. A number of Climate Smart contracts I was implementing for the farm season were voided this afternoon. I’ll be okay – my projects were small and my outlays so far hadn’t yet hit a four-digit number – but there are people that you know and buy food from who are going to be gutted by this.

Pennsylvania ranks in the top five states in terms of number or organic farming operations, and we are second only to California in terms of the number of farms (and I mean all farms, not limited to organic farms) that sell directly to customers – at farm stands, through CSA programs, at farmers’ markets, and through other direct market outlets. It’s a pretty amazing statistic, and perhaps you can see why so many folks right here are expressing concern right now within the industry and as eaters.

-The National Young Farmers Coalition is asking farmers to share their stories about how these impacts will affect their farm here.

-The National Farmers Union sent out an email asking farmers and ranchers to share any personal anecdotes about how various agricultural funding freezes are affecting their farms. Their D.C. number is 202-554-1600. They are looking to know if:

• A now-frozen federal program directly benefited you, your operation, or your community
• You or someone you know was a federal employee who was fired, or you have struggled to access federal services because staff members providing the services were fired
• You or someone you know are in financial distress after funding was frozen

-On February 21st, The Pennsylvania Association of Sustainable Agriculture asked folks to take action to share their stories directly with the USDA. PASA distributes some ag funds through Climate Smart programs, which are infrastructure improvements, scientific studies and growing practices meant to mitigate the depreciation of soil and air quality, sequester carbon, and many other factors that play into our domestic role in land stewardship and crop production. This program runs in tandem with the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Services.

NOTE: Some of this funding has been unfrozen since this call to action, and Secretary Rollins has stated that preexisting contracts within some of these scopes will be honored. But there’s no guarantee that won’t change, or that these programs will continue on in the years ahead despite outlays and promised funding from the last Administration. And a number of them have indeed been cut.

“Many federal funding recipients were notified in January that an Executive Memorandum from the Office of Management and Budget paused action on both existing and future federal assistance programs, including most climate- and equity-related grants—Pasa among them,” PASA writes. For the days these funds were paused, people I know were concerned. Some didn’t know if they were now suddenly going to be on the hook for money that they had already spent on projects – some half-finished, some just beginning – and how that was going to affect their entire season (or, in some cases, their entire farming career).

“While the duration and full impact of the recent federal funding freeze remain uncertain, our commitment to our mission, to farmers, and to our entire community remains unwavering. We will share updates as we learn more, and in the meantime, we invite you to take action with us.”

Here is the script they provided via email and on the Facebook Page:

Call (833) ONE-USDA or (202) 720-7100 or email AgSec@usda.gov to share your story and explain how this inaction is impacting you and your livelihood, If you’d like, you can use the below template to help craft your message:

INTRODUCE YOURSELF

My name is [YOUR NAME]. I live [AND/OR FARM, SUPPORT FARMERS, LAND STEWARDS, ETC) in [CITY/STATE].

EXPRESS YOUR CONCERN

I am very concerned about the current policies being put in place at USDA that will withhold funding, compromise the data of farmers and the community-based organizations that support them, reverse decades of progress towards achieving equity for underrepresented communities, and push our farmers off their land and communities into devastating economic and food insecurity.

ASK HER TO TAKE SPECIFIC ACTION

I am asking you to lead by example in holding the USDA to the Prompt Payment Act, and ensure that farmers and the community-based organizations that serve them can receive the Congressionally-approved funding they need to keep growing food for our communities. I urge you to defend this funding and to please convey my concerns to US House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn Thompson.

THANK HER

Thank you for your service to our nation’s farmers.

–Here is the note about her release of the first tranche of funds. As I stated earlier, not everything that was frozen is coming back.

-Pennsylvania Certified Organic is my state’s agency that oversees annual organic certifications for growers and producers. I’ve had one of these since 2017 – it’s a fair amount of paperwork to get started, it requires an annual audit and inspection from a licensed inspector (along with occasional tissue samples from crops to confirm organic status), and it’s expensive. It’s been getting more expensive each year. I do understand why farms will follow organic practices without obtaining the certification because of these factors.

The Organic Cost Share program is a reimbursement option for growers who pass the inspection each year. It can cover a small scope of the certification or re-certification fees – but for my first few years, skating on pretty thin to non-existent ice with the farm’s profit margins, it was imperative for me to even consider trying for the certification.

Here is what PCO wrote in its recent newsletter:

“Recent funding cuts to the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and the USDA Organic Cost Share Program put farmers, ranchers, and sustainable agriculture at risk. These programs provide essential resources that support conservation efforts and organic certification, ensuring a resilient and thriving food system.

These resources are critical for farmers to implement conservation practices, maintain organic certification, and sustain their operations. Ensuring full funding for these programs is essential to protecting rural communities and the future of agriculture.

Contact U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Rollins and urge her to uphold the binding agreements made by the USDA with farmers, ranchers, and supporting organizations, ensuring they receive the reimbursements they are owed.

Call (833) ONE-USDA or (202) 720-2791 to share your story and explain how these cuts are impacting you and your livelihood.”

–The Local Food Purchase Assistance Program has allowed food banks across the country to purchase from local growers at a scale not seen before. A number of growers I know and work with have become partners of this program, as have area food banks, and it’s been so amazing to watch this food access program grow over the last couple of years. Farmers are tweaking crop plans to grow more for the local community and simultaneously have an option for high-quality excess if there’s a bumper crop. It’s highly vetted. And it’s another program with a murky future right now.

Who to call? Locally, we’ve got:

• Sen. John Fetterman, D
  • D.C.: 202 224 4254
  • Phila.: 215 241 1090
  • Harrisburg: 717 782 3951
  • Wilkes-Barre/Scranton: 570 820 4088
• Sen. Dave McCormick, R
  • D.C.: 202 224 6324
  • Allentown: 610 782 9470
  • Phila.: 215 405 9660
  • Harrisburg: 717 231 7540
• Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R
  • D.C.: 202 225 6411
  • Allentown: 484 781-6000

That’s all for now. It’s hard to aggregate news when the field of play changes so substantially so quickly, but I think these are all parts of the growing issues that will continue to fluctuate and should be addressed. We shall see.