2 weeks Ago
Congress must stop the Trump administration’s unconstitutional assault on federal programs and agencies. By interrupting USDA conservation, rural development, marketing, and food procurement programs, the federal funding freeze hurts farmers, thwarts nonprofit endeavors to feed the hungry, and jeopardizes the land, soil, and water on which we all depend. Farmers across our region are hurting.
For example, Appalachian Sustainable Development in Bristol, Va. ( https://www.asdevelop.
org/ ) helps farmers adopt agroforestry practices, such as forest farming and silvopasture. These practices diversify farm income, increase yields, and improve resilience to floods and droughts. However, ASD has had $1.
25 million in federal funding frozen, jeopardizing the future of their agroforestry program. As a result, herb farmers working with ASD could lose over $237,000 in sales this year. One vegetable grower in Augusta County noted that USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) practices help sustain her farm through extreme drought, flood, and pest pressures.
Another farmer invested $7,000 in a tree nursery for NRCS-funded conservation plantings, and a new farmer in Floyd plans to seek NRCS conservation assistance. An organic blueberry farmer in Mount Crawford receives funding through the Transitioning to Organic Partnership Program to mentor newly organic farmers. Today, these farmers can no longer count on USDA support.
In 2024, a network of farmers and community food organizers in the Roanoke Valley received a USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) grant to build an equitable and resilient food system. A nonprofit in the Harrisonburg area utilizes the Local Food Procurement Assistance program to help local farmers provide fresh produce to food-insecure households. The federal funding pause has left these farmers and networks in limbo and could hurt US agriculture for years to come.
These are our tax dollars, our investment in those whose diligent work keeps us all fed and our land healthy and productive. Congressmen Ben Cline, R-6th District, and Morgan Griffith, R-9th District, must call on Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to immediately restore all USDA program funding authorized by Congress. Mark Schonbeck, Floyd.
