To the editor:
We have not received answers yet from Jason Smith to the questions that we submitted to him Feb. 26, so we are continuing to answer those questions to the best of our ability here and in future letters to the editor.
Right now, farmers are planning for this year’s growing season. But farmers in the 8th
Congressional District of Missouri had the ground yanked out from under them when they lost aid that was promised to them for flood damage that occurred last fall. They had contractual agreements with the federal government to help them buy hay, fences, and equipment lost to flood waters. The new administration has canceled those contracts, leaving farmers in deep debt for the supplies they need for the coming season.
Missouri has over 95,000 farms — the second highest number of farms in the nation — many of them owned by the same family for generations. Like most farming operations, they rely on federal aid to survive. But the broken promises from the federal government
mean the farmers and the communities that depend on them will have to lay off workers, cancel orders, and try to find new markets for their crops.
The freeze on $2 billion to USAID guts the program Food for Peace, the longest-running
program for international food assistance in the US. Food for Peace has been effective in avoiding anti-US sentiment abroad, and decreases people’s need to leave their own countries because of hunger. It also has been effective in building relationships. Japan and South Korea were some of the earliest recipients of Food for Peace, and are now paying customers who buy soybeans, rice, and other crops from Missouri.
USDA’s rural energy for America program was set up to help farmers invest in energy production programs that would help their farms succeed using sustainable energy sources. Under this program, farmers pay half the cost of solar installation upfront. After
installation, the government promised (through signed contracts) to pay the remainder. When government funding was stopped these farmers are now being forced to pay the rest of the costs for the solar installations out of pocket because our government will not honor these signed contracts. Not honoring signed contracts is illegal for private companies. Why is the government allowed to stiff farmers?
Schools and food banks are now losing $19 million that was used to purchase fresh and local produce. This not only hurts school children and those that face food insecurity, it
also hurts the farmers who planned their food production based on these programs. They don’t know how much to plant, how many workers to lay off, or how to sell their produce.
The freeze on funding is also affecting agricultural research at land grant universities. Peter Goldsmith, the director of the Soybean Innovation Lab at the University of Missouri-Columbia, notes that the funding freeze causes Missouri to lose the option of expanding markets for their soybean production. Ending the Innovation Lab’s research on drought- and disease-resistant soybeans will hinder food production in other countries, forcing hungry people to seek relief through immigration.
By discontinuing programs that have helped farmers produce plentiful food, the new
administration is stifling food production and driving up prices for consumers. They are also not honoring existing signed contracts with farmers. This is wrong. Will our representatives stand up for Missouri farmers and for hungry children in Missouri and abroad?
