Farming has always been a precarious and unpredictable profession. But amid increasingly extreme weather caused by climate change, economic uncertainty, and cuts at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, many local farmers say they are feeling particularly stressed right now.
“People don't really understand what it costs to grow food. And we don't have big farms like Michigan and Illinois,” said Dave Trumble, owner of the Good Earth Farm in Weare. “We are a small farm state.”
Trumble was one of several local organic farmers who gathered at Generation Farm in Concord Tuesday to share their concerns with Rep. Maggie Goodlander. They named cuts to training programs, New Hampshire’s tight real estate market and labor shortages as current challenges.
Agriculture is a relatively small industry in New Hampshire and only a narrow slice of farmers run certified organic farms. Most farms in the state are family operations with thin margins.
Farmers, including Trumble, urged Goodlander to advocate for policies that support small farms.
Goodlander said many federal policies favor “big players in big ag.”
“I've visited farms across the state and protecting the USDA, the federal funding sources that are a total lifeline for family farms, for small farms in New Hampshire is really a top priority,” she said.
Local farmers have been ringing alarm bells throughout this summer and asking for more local support to make up for lost federal funding. Many say the cuts will hit small farms and local food supply chains particularly hard.
The USDA has a proposed reorganization plan that will pull personnel from the Northeast. Goodlander wrote a letter to the USDA criticizing the decision.
Julie Davenson, co-president of the Board of Directors of Northeast Organic Farming Association New Hampshire chapter, also criticized the proposed reorganization. Her group joined NOFA chapters across the region in a lawsuit challenging the plan.
“The reorganization not only threatens the integrity and ability of the National Organic Program to function, but also makes accessing services for farmers through their local conservation districts more challenging,” she said.
