Federal Contracts for Farms: A Brief Breakdown to Help You Better Understand The Programs, How They Work, and Why They Are Important

Sunset on the Farm

There are quite a few grants that have historically been available to farmers and ranchers through the USDA and NRCS (Natural Resources and Conservation Service). 

What does the NRCS do?

The NRCS works one-on-one with producers to develop a conservation plan that helps solve on-farm resource issues. These NRCS agents are so amazing- lending technical assistance and helping farms implement practices and activities that can lead to cleaner water and air, healthier soil and better wildlife habitat, reducing soil erosion, improving drought resilience, and helping to protect against increasing weather volatility. Some practices even help improve carbon sequestration and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.   These programs:  help farmers put up high tunnels (helping to increase output through season extension growing as well as protecting against extreme weather events), help improve air quality and soil health (cover cropping, and no-till practices specifically help to decrease wind erosion and particulates/dust in the air especially in dry places like Texas), help create pollinator habitat, improve irrigation efficiency, and also support initiatives to improve energy efficiency on farms.    The NRCS also helps private landowners with a whole host of programs that help protect and restore wetlands, forests, farmland, and grasslands throughout the entire country.   

How has the NRCS benefited us, and therefore you?

Suffice it to say, we are big fans of the NRCS and honestly wouldn't be where we are today with their guidance, their expertise, and their willingness to work with farms both big and small.  Love those greens we have in May, November and December?  Wouldn't be possible without the support provided by our local NRCS office (in Killingly) through their high tunnel program.  Remember the many cycles of droughts in years past?  NRCS helped us to install irrigation in the field that has become critical during the dry summers we've had- crops like our fall carrots and root veggies would never be able to get established without irrigation during the hot dry months of July/August.   The NRCS also helped us to re-map the layout of our fields and provided us with a water conservation plan in which our growing beds follow the contour of the land and not straight rows, leading to better water harvesting in times of scarcity (that was also the last time we tilled our fields over 8 years ago now).  Remember July 2021 when it rained for 3 weeks straight and we got over 21" of rain in about 25 days?   Our fields never flooded because of the guidance and technical assistance provided by our local NRCS office to improve our soil quality and health, leading to excellent water infiltration in our soils.  I mean, the fields were still a sopping wet mess, but the sponginess of the soil meant our crops were not sitting under inches or more of water like other area farms.  The NRCS is very active in the area and many farms have benefited greatly from their expertise and financial assistance.  And when farms benefit, YOU benefit!   This assistance makes so much of what we do to serve our community possible.  

How do these grants work?

The majority of these grants through the NRCS are reimbursement grants- meaning you sign a contract outlining what you are obligating your farm to do, and once the work is complete and certified by the NRCS, then you are able to receive the payment as outlined in the contract which helps cover the costs. Meaning- you put out the funds for supplies and to complete the work, and the government will cover a contracted cost once it is complete.  Those critical of our tax dollars going to such programs really need to ask themselves what things would look like without this kind of support. Keep in mind that in the big picture of government spending, many industries receive financial assistance from our government, in many forms like subsidies (more on that below).  I don't think I need to go into detail to explain how SLIM the margins are for farmers and producers.  So these grants are critical for many of us. 

Why is this such an issue right now, especially for small farms?

Many farmers and producers have already put out many thousands of dollars for projects that they have legal contracts for, but have either been canceled or are on an uncertain chopping block.  Many NRCS employees have been fired, and entire offices have closed down- which means no assistance or support and no one to certify contractual obligations to initiate reimbursement.  Many farms have bought the materials, created crop plans, and hired workers for the season that will not be reimbursed.  For some, that could be 25% of their bottom line just wiped out- poof- overnight.   Again, let me remind you of the SLIM margins in producing food.  This might end up sinking many businesses that are already feeling the effects of higher costs of inputs, losses due to extreme weather events, and more.  It is not going to sink us specifically.  Our contracts have not been outright canceled but there is zero certainty that the funds will be delivered- thus we are in a holding pattern and doing what we can with what we have, and waiting to see- which means our plans to extend our high tunnel coverage is on hold for now. 

Federal Dollars Big Picture: What are subsidies and who gets them? How do big farms benefit from subsidies and how does this relate to small farms and grant programs?

Big Agriculture gets plenty of government handouts in the form of subsidies (direct cash payments and targeted tax cuts) and bailouts (such as the $23 billion bailout in economic aid for large farms who lost export markets caused by tariffs in 2018-19). These subsidies keep the cost of food lower (good for the American consumer) but distorts the reality of the actual cost of goods.  In fact, many American companies and corporations receive subsidies from the government (Boeing, Intel, Ford Motors, and General Motors are the top 4 recipients in the last 25 years, totaling around 40 billion a year- even the fossil fuel industry gets around 20 Billion a year). The biggest winners in the farm subsidy game are those who grow corn, soy and wheat, and are very large farms found in Texas, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, and the Dakotas. Ironically, while over 85% of American farms are small family farms with small incomes, the majority of agricultural subsidies (almost 80%) go to the largest 10% (based on acreage- so the larger they are, the more they benefit and conversely small farms do not benefit). Without these subsidies and bailouts when, for example,  large-scale flooding wipes out a crop or a trade war results in lost international markets, many of our largest farms would go belly-up. What happens to our food system then? They are protectionist measures to ensure stability in our food system and economy.  The same is true for small farms that rely on these federal grant programs to make themselves more resilient, more efficient, and thus more profitable in a business where the name of the game is risk.  And not just any old capitalist business-type risk- but risk surrounding the ability to FEED PEOPLE.  I think we can all agree that is pretty important!

What else?

There is such a huge amount of disruption going on right now that this issue has all but disappeared from major headlines.  But another important thing to note is the cancellation of a program that helped provide farm fresh food to schools and local food pantries.  That too is a huge loss with a giant impact on communities all over the country.  And it is hitting our area directly- impacting farmers who rely on this program for sales and distribution of their products to both schools and food pantries in the Quiet Corner. 

It's a lot to take in, but for now we are going to keep looking forward to beautiful spring days and the promise of greens and fresh veggies in our future.