How the Funding Freeze is Impacting Your Meat

The past few weeks have been difficult ones for me at the farm.  As a small farmer who has received and continues to receive funding for conservation projects on my farm, the funding freeze in the USDA directed at climate smart programs has been alarming.  Today, I’m sitting down at my computer and recognizing that $5000.00 that I was planning to receive from the government this year for programs I am in contract for will likely not be showing up.  $4000 of that money is part of a 5 year Conservation Stewardship Program that I have been a part of for the past 4 years.  This program helps me to learn more about managing my pasture effectively as a new farmer and helps provide funding for the extra labor I do in order to maintain a healthy pasture for my cattle and the environment. I also receive $1219.00 a year for the 5 acres of riparian buffer that I am in a 20 year contract with the government for.  This land has been pulled out of production and does not make me money other than the rent the government is paying.  Why is this program important?  Because this land is in the flood plain and in the past few years, it has done its job in slowing and absorbing water that would otherwise be causing more damage in towns and neighborhoods downstream.  While $5000.00 may not seem like a lot of money, as a small farmer, it is already a struggle to pay myself a fair wage and keep my prices down for my customers.  I am now faced with the reality that without taking a significant hit to my own finances, I am going to have to pass on this bill to my customers.  I don’t like this option!

I am not the only farmer dealing with this.  Many of your small farmers receive funding through the government to protect our local environment, whether it is for cover cropping for grain farmers, manure management practices at dairies, or planting trees along creeks. The loss of this funding will directly impact your food prices when you go to the grocery store or the local produce stand.

So what can we do?

Please write to your local and federal representatives.  Talk to your neighbors.  These cuts seem like they are impacting only on the large scale, but they are making a big impact in our small communities.  My farm would not exist without the help of many of the USDA programs that support small farmers to get started while also having a positive environmental impact.

I appreciate you all!

As ever your farmer,

Deanne