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National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition Calls for Halt to Funding Freeze
Even under more normal circumstances, advocates for a better food system would be paying close attention to National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC), which leads in federal policy advocacy to build a better food system. After all, the five-year Farm Bill — which covers all federal food, farm and food assistance program — was due to be updated and enacted in 2023, but is up again this year after two one-year extensions due to congressional inaction.
But these are no ordinary times in agriculture. In less than a month, the new administration in Washington has created unprecedented uncertainty and fear in rural America with:
Its efforts to dismantle the U.S. Agency for International Development, which has for many years purchased grain and food from American farmers for export in foreign aid.
Its suspension of reimbursements of contracted infrastructure improvements that many farmers have already completed.
The potential impact of imposed and threatened tariffs on U.S. food producers.
The potential impact of deportations of undocumented immigrants, whose labor is heavily relied upon in the farm economy.
To highlight its annual Farmer Fly-In, NSAC issued a press release on February 12 to lay out its call for urgent measures to halt and reverse actions that threaten farmers' financial viability. The release is re-published below:
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Release: Frozen Funding, Stalled Programs, Farm Bill Impacts: Farmers, Ranchers, and Advocates Elevate Urgent Priorities on Capitol Hill
February 12, 2025
Washington, DC, February 12, 2025 – Today, the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) organized more than 130 farmers, ranchers, and community advocates to call for urgent action on Capitol Hill around the ongoing federal funding freeze and critical farm bill and appropriations priorities.
Coalition members held nearly 150 meetings with key members of Congress, including House and Senate Agriculture Committee leaders and agriculture appropriators. Farmers and advocates from across the nation have gathered to share stories of how continued uncertainty and confusion from USDA and Congress are resulting in real-world impacts on farms and communities.
“The new Congress must make it a top priority to immediately halt and rectify the ongoing federal funding freeze before there are irreversible and devastating impacts to farmers and communities. Farmers are delaying planting decisions and owed tens of thousands of dollars in contract payments for infrastructure the federal government agreed to support months ago. Organizations are laying off staff, canceling events and programs, and halting critical community services for the hungry. This serves no one – it creates uncertainty, wastes money, and destroys trust in the federal government,” said Mike Lavender, NSAC Policy Director.
“We are entering our third year without a new farm bill, amidst a months-long delay in FY25 appropriations and a new budget resolution that proposes hundreds of billions of dollars in cuts to farm bill programs. We need leadership from lawmakers that is accountable to the needs of producers and communities. We are on the Hill to deliver that message and share our priorities today,” Lavender added.
The Coalition is calling on members of Congress to:
Act to ensure USDA honors its legal obligations and releases payments to farmers and organizations on signed contracts without delay to avoid causing any further impacts to farmers and the organizations that work with them.
Enact swift passage of a fiscal year (FY) 25 spending bill that sustains funding for critical sustainable agriculture programs.
Develop a new, comprehensive, and bipartisan farm bill that addresses Coalition priorities to advance conservation, reform the farm safety net, build resilient food and farm systems, and much more.
NSAC has been a leader in agricultural policy for more than 35 years and has been instrumental in helping to develop some of our nation’s most successful agricultural programs for conserving natural resources, advancing the next generation of farmers, supporting agricultural research, and creating sustainable market connections.
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