02/23/2025
Yesterday, we and hundreds of other small farms in the Northeast were informed that we would not be getting grant funding that had already been allocated by congress for Climate Smart practices and funding. Many of us were counting on this $ for the next four seasons. We personally were planning on $35K for this coming year. As you might imagine, farmers make their budgets, hire their crew, and order supplies in late fall/early winter. It's very hard to have the rug pulled out from under you this close to Spring— especially from the government to whom we pay taxes.
This funding would have funded a number of practices that are common sense: fences to keep out deer, perennial plantings to block wind, grass in waterways to prevent erosion, etc.
They are called "climate smart" practices, because they are helpful in adapting to extreme weather events, which— whether or not you believe the widespread scientific consensus around human-caused climate change— any farmer can tell you are getting more and more common and severe every year.
In short, these practices could save whole farms, livelihoods, and the whole food system. This funding would have provided some financial support in implementing them, paying farmers for materials and a small amount to do the work.
These practices have been targeted by the current administration as "green new deal social engineering." Because I suspect I have people who are more conservative as followers on Facebook than I do on other platforms, I want to be very clear in this post, because I think this is important.
***When they say, "green new deal social engineering," they are talking about this farm— and almost every other small organic farm in our community— they are talking about the underpaid advisors who support us and the trees that we want to plant and the practices that we want to implement to protect our shared environmental resources— like clean water., healthy forests, and breathable air..***
***When they say, "marxist gender ideology" they are also talking about me, because some of the people I love the most in this world are trans, and I use whatever pronouns for them that they most prefer, because I love them and I want them to feel seen and appreciated for who they are.***
When they say, "DEI," they're also in a way talking about this farm, because we try to create a welcoming farm environment for everyone who comes here— employee, customer, or visitor. Because we offer sliding scale pricing. Because we give a reparations discount to black and indigenous people, because so many of these medicines come from their healing traditions, which they were legally prohibited from practicing for decades.
And, by the way, when they talk about the leeches on Medicaid, they're talking about me too. As a start-up, I invest most of the money we make back into the business, but I pay my crew above industry standards. Last year alone, we grew thousands of pounds of plants, offered sliding scale pricing, and made 30 CSA shares available to food-insecure members of our community. I ensured that 100 acres of farmland and forest remained undeveloped and in agricultural production. I did so in a way that protected watersheds and fed pollinators. I truly do not know if I can afford to do this without Masshealth, which is a Medicaid program.
These terms are codes for people you know and love who are truly trying to make the world a better place. When you hear them, don't picture some vague sinister figure, picture me and the work I do.
For those that are curious, here's some of the text from the email we received from the PA Sustainable Ag Association, our grant/contract administrator:
"One existing external constraint that does impact our ability to continue work as planned is that, at this time, we are not able to support new practice installations that require a CPA52 approval for environmental review. Those practices include the following:
Alley Cropping, Contour Buffer Strips, Fences, Field Borders, Filter Strips, Forest Farming, Grassed Waterways, Hedgerow Planting, Herbaceous Wind Barriers, Livestock Pipelines, Pasture & Hay Planting, Riparian Herbaceous Cover, Silvopasture, Tree & Shrub Establishment, Vegetative Barrier, Windbreaks, and Watering Facility."
But the most infuriating part of the email?
"We know that this is extremely disappointing, but the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) recently canceled its contract with the third-party CPA52 reviewer, even though there is no cost saving to the federal government to do so."
(For those that don't know, CPA52 environmental review just makes sure that you're not destroying vulnerable habitats like wetlands when you implement a practice.)
The most infuriating this about all of this is that it is clear that the so-called DOGE, who— despite having no congressional approval to do so— is nominally tasked with "cost saving" has taken no time to learn how complex bureaucratic systems work and is slashing at will. From my vantage point, it feels like an intentional tactic to instill terror and uncertainty over the people it resents— civil servants, scientists, teachers, q***r folks, people of color, disabled people, and millions of other good people who do work in sectors like climate change, agriculture, restorative practices, etc.
Anyway, I guarantee you that nearly every farm you've ever bought eggs or produce from survives, to some degree, on funding that comes from our shared tax dollars— whether it be in crop insurance or conservation contracts. Please support them.
**EDIT: I've turned off comments, because I never expected this to go beyond our little community! I'm still a small business owner over here and don't have time to field a lot of replies. Unlike some billionaires we know, I still have to pay my taxes! Thanks for all the support and thoughtfulness— I'm blown away! And I think the only way we're going to get through this is with a lot of care for each other, a lot of humility, and a willingness to fight for people who are different from us. Thanks for showing me that so many people are ready to do this.**
FENNER PINES FARM home of BROWN DOG MAPLE-Sales/Training/Riding, Hay, Maple Syrup, Vegetables
