Farmers in Vermont and the organizations that serve them are having their livelihoods threatened by the failure of the U.S. Department of Agriculture to honor contracts it signed to pay back farmers for money they are owed, according to Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vermont.
Welch joined with Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey, and 15 other Democratic representatives to introduce the Honor Farmer Contracts Act, legislation to release funding being withheld for all contracts and agreements previously entered into by the USDA.
The USDA has refused to make reimbursement payments to fulfill signed contracts, without any indication of when or whether farmers will be paid what they are owed. The Honor Farmer Contracts Act would require the USDA to pay farmers all past due payments as quickly as possible to prevent them from having to shut down their operations, according to a press release.
“Let’s get one thing straight: the Trump Administration is illegally stiffing our farmers, refusing to reimburse them for funding they’ve been promised,” Welch said in a press release. “Trump pulled the rug right out from underneath farmers’ feet. Our farmers made these agreements in good faith, and Trump’s decision to go back on his word will hurt Vermont farmers and cause irreversible damage to local food programs across the country.”
Organizations that serve farmers are being threatened as well
In addition to the reimbursements for farmers that are being withheld, organizations that serve farmers by connecting them to local markets and implementing practices that make them more productive are facing imminent funding crises from not being reimbursed for completed, or ongoing contracted work, according to Welch.
If not quickly made whole by the federal government, these organizations will be forced to lay off staff and suspend their programs, destroying years of progress in advancing local food systems.
Here are the provisions of the proposed legislation
The Honor Farmer Contracts Act would:
- Require USDA to unfreeze all signed agreements and contracts
- Require USDA to make all past due payments as quickly as possible
- Prohibit USDA from cancelling agreements or contracts with farmers or organization providing assistance to farmers unless there has been a failure to comply with the terms and conditions of the agreement or contract
- Prohibit USDA from closing any Farm Service Agency county office, Natural Resources Conservation Service field office or Rural Development Service Center without providing 60 days prior notice and justification to Congress
“During the past several months, countless farmers and the community-based organizations who serve them have had their livelihoods thrown into doubt as USDA has deliberated whether or not to honor its own legal contracts,” Mike Lavender, policy director for the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, said in a press release. “The Honor Farmer Contract Act unequivocally reiterates a bedrock principle − USDA must honor its own word, and swiftly meet its legal obligations to farmers and organizations by immediately releasing funding on all signed contracts.”
Story Written by Dan D’Ambrosio, Burlington Free Press