A Wisconsin-based nonprofit hopes a new law can help some of its struggling farmers quickly recoup federal grant funds they are owed.
The Honor Farmer Contracts Act would order the United States Department of Agriculture to resume paying farmers from previously signed agreements.
The Michael Fields Agriculture Institute is one of more than 350 organizations to have signed on to a letter of support to Congress.
Ryan Martin, executive director of the institute, said federal cuts have affected both their network and their organization.
"There's also a lot of legal and operational chaos, so we're sort of stuck navigating these legal gray zones around signed contracts," Martin explained. "My part-time job right now, unfortunately, has been canceling contracts and laying off contractors, and we've had to lay off several staff."
The act would require the U.S. Department of Agriculture to unfreeze all signed agreements and contracts, make past-due payments quickly and prohibit the agency from canceling contracts unless there is a breach of contract.
The sudden cuts blindsided farmers across the country. Hundreds of farmers in the Upper Midwest region served by the Michael Fields Institute participate in USDA-funded programs to pay farmers for serving their communities.
Clint Bland, owner of Bland Family Farm and founder of the organic farming collective Farms of Illinois, said the programs have been instrumental in supporting small local farms and creating a synergistic ecosystem.
"This funding has far more impacts than just paying one farmer," Bland pointed out. "All this food was going out throughout the communities that we were serving to disadvantaged folks who need food, and then it was also helping the business and everything was just kind of flowing around and it kept the money right here and helped out the community."
Bland added the uncertainty has forced him to make operational changes, such as staff cuts and modifications to planting strategies, to mitigate potential losses.
Rachel Smedberg, cofounder of Tulip Creek Gardens, said grant program participation helped them expand from one staff member to five and serve as aggregators for other local farmers. She emphasized the cuts affect not only their operation but also their network of farmers and the food-insecure communities they serve.
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