The federal funding freeze implemented by President Donald Trump’s Administration has been causing lots of uncertainty among the farmers in New Hampshire. The funding freeze cut access to grants and it is not clear when the funds will be unfrozen.
U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen held a roundtable discussion in which she heard from local farmers how the funding freeze was already affecting them. Shaheen encouraged those who attended to get in contact with the state’s legislators.
Many farmers in N.H. have already started spending their budget as they believed those costs would be covered by federal funding and grants.
“We had a contract all signed and agreed on over the winter and are now being informed that agreement is under question. We already spent money we don’t have,” Massachusetts farmer Ryan Voiland told the Daily Hampshire Gazette.
According to the Gazette, “Now farmers across the country are in limbo, waiting to hear if grants awarded to them for much-needed equipment and various soil health, expansion and modernization projects will actually come through.”
When sworn into office, Donald Trump promised to cut down on wasteful government spending. But what gives a businessman the right to decide that farming is wasteful government spending? Trump doesn’t know a single thing about farming, he spent his whole life with a silver spoon in his mouth. If you gave that man a pair of working boots, I bet he wouldn’t be able to tie them by himself.
In order for N.H. farmers to feel at ease, the Trump administration should prioritize the needs of the people over the administration’s “priorities” but it is clear farming is not on the president’s agenda. Our government is wasting time reviewing all government spending so that Trump can instead use the money to benefit him and all his billionaire friends. If farmers could get a single clue on when they could receive funding, they could plan ahead and act accordingly.
Instead of helping our planet, they are spending time on advocating for themselves, which they should not have to do in the first place. “These short-term flare ups are one thing, but this long-term bleed of the system that helps new people get into farming, transition to the next generation, do those things that aren’t necessarily directly related to the bottom line, but improve the long-term sustainability of your farm, this is just the beginning,” said Roger Noonan of the New England Farmers Union at Shaheen’s roundtable, according to the Gazette.
Those who already “spent money they don’t have” like Voiland are panicking. Now, the farmers of N.H. are struggling to come up with alternative funding. They may have to resort to using their own money, but even then, it will be almost impossible to cover the costs without going bankrupt. Farmers rely on federal funding in order to operate. Farmers had planned on using grant funding and federal reimbursements for supplies and climate-sustainable farming infrastructure, but now they have been blindsided by the government. We rely on farming for lots of our agriculture and food. Farming is essential to our planet.
Unfortunately for the farmers, until the funding is unfrozen, they are left without a real solution. The best idea I could offer would be to advocate for the funds by reaching out to their representatives and to try their best without the money for now.
Madelyn Marabella can be contacted at
mmarabella@kscequinox.com
