There have been a myriad of changes happening with the federal government since President Trump’s inauguration, including freezes of Federal grants that will impact support for affordable housing, maintaining roads and bridges, and Bucks County parks and trails. The freeze that many people are not aware of is the freeze on USDA grants which greatly impacts local farmers.
Farmers rely on USDA grants to help with pay wages and benefits for workers, make improvements to their equipment, provide technical assistance, implement Climate Smart practices, conduct research, and much more. USDA grants help small and large farmers. Farmers are awarded these grants and funding months in advance and these funds become a critical part of a farm’s financial planning.
In the past weeks, the USDA has frozen many of their grant programs, including some that Bucks County Farmers were expecting for the 2025 season, throwing many farmers into funding uncertainty.
Roots to River Farm says, “a USDA grant we were counting on to fund employee benefits is still frozen with no information on whether we will ever receive it.”
Blooming Glen Farm explains, “these are grants that make your farms more resilient to extreme weather, to labor shortages and to supply chain disruptions. Instead the farming community is experiencing unnecessary chaos. And it will affect food prices, no doubt about it.”
What can you do?
- Join a CSA – giving farmers capital now will help them weather the uncertainty of this moment and keep their farms going. You can find a list of CSA farms in our Local Food Map here.
- Shop at your farmers markets – put money into the local economy and farmers’ pockets
- Call your representative and tell them to support local farmers and USDA grants
- Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (202) 225-4276
- Senator Dave McCormick (202) 224-6324
- Senator John Fetterman (202) 224-4254
A Sample Script for your call:
Hello, I am [name], and I am a constituent in [place]. I live at [address] and my phone number is [number].
I am calling today to ask [Representative/Senator name] to support farmers affected by the USDA funding freeze. With funds for infrastructure, research, Climate Smart practices, and technical assistance frozen, farmers nationwide are now facing economic uncertainty.
You have a duty to oversee the United States Department of Agriculture, these funds were all appropriated by Congress. We’re calling on you to perform that duty and push USDA to honor its existing contracts with farmers and to communicate this with farmers as soon as possible.
Thank you for your consideration.
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