A Maine farmer reports from the front lines of the new American agriculture movement
I am a small, organic vegetable farmer in southern Maine, in the town of Topsham, where I grew up.
For the past 15 years, our farm has worked with U.S. Department of Agriculture to help build infrastructure that protects natural resources and makes our farm more resilient to extreme weather. These cost-shares through the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and Farm Service Agency have given us a leg up, but they have also always led to us making further investments on our own dime.
In 2014, for instance, with $15,000 in USDA grants, we improved 900 feet of existing access roads to reduce erosion in our fields. We saw such value in the practice that we have paid for over 500 feet of additional road ourselves in the last few years. In 2017, we contracted with NRCS to build a compost pad to capture and filter runoff from the composting process, began building greater capacity for on-farm composting, and have since invested in equipment to become self-sufficient for our compost needs. In 2017, we were also awarded a Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grant for 50% of the cost of a 15-kW solar array to generate electricity for our farm operations. These investments have helped our farm grow from a mom-and-pop operation with no employees, other than our family, to employing 10 people locally in Topsham and selling produce year-round at farmers’ markets in Brunswick and seasonally at our greenhouse.
Throughout Maine, similar federal investments have led to real benefits in communities, local infrastructure and the small business economy. Yet, recent cuts in USDA funding and staffing stand to undermine much of that progress and will harm farmers and rural communities. Maine farms are suffering right now from frozen federal funding for projects to protect natural resources, produce renewable energy and create more resilient farm businesses.
Many of these projects were already contracted and, in some cases, built and paid for by the farmers who are now left holding the bill (USDA pays cost-shares by reimbursement). It’s a betrayal made even worse by the fact that we have had to build these projects to government specifications, which comes at an additional cost that is only made affordable by the cost-share. Many of these projects are big stretches for farms that we undertake with faith that the government will hold up its end of the deal. Our farm’s last USDA cost-share for a high tunnel construction project came through just days before the funding freeze, but we were the lucky ones.
That’s why on April 16, I joined farmers, organizers and legislators at the Farmer Day of Action demonstration and tractor brigade at the Maine State Capitol.
We took a nice spring day when we should have been working on the farm to protest, because we need to be heard. More than 200 people showed up in Augusta, with 12 tractors and 6 trucks. We came to protest Trump administration cuts to the USDA, urge our congressional delegation to fight for restoration of critical programs and demand that the government honors the contracts they have made with farmers.
We spoke about the devastating impacts of holding the bag for contracted projects while funds are frozen, about the uncertainty of future programs, about being weary of entering into contracts ever again having seen that this administration’s word is no good. We spoke about feeling sold out as small farmers, knowing that the big commodity producers will get protected (even if the big row crop guys will ultimately be worse off with inflation and the loss of export market due to the trade wars). Many of the attendees penned letters to Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins expressing this sentiment.
Organic farmers like me also urged federal lawmakers to re-introduce the Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act, modeled after successful legislation in Maine, which would provide a financial safety net for farmers whose livelihood is upended by PFAS pollution.
The USDA was founded to help farmers, because this country needs every one of our farms, and we need to encourage more people to take the risks required to answer the call to grow more food and to make our communities more resilient.
The Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association (MOFGA), which sponsored this action, helped with planning, outreach and logistics, putting out the call for their supporters throughout Maine to come to Augusta and support farmers. MOFGA is an invaluable resource for organic farms like mine in Maine, providing a range of vital services to farmers, advocating for just and sustainable food system policy at the state and national level, as well as organizing a lot of community education and policy action like they did for this protest. Inspired by the event, several other states have said they would like to host their own Farmer Day of Action.
I marched with Selby, my one-and-a-half-year-old son (with only a little FOMO [fear of missing out] that I couldn’t drive a tractor up all the way up there with him). It felt powerful to see so many of my farming peers showing up and making noise. This time of turmoil has felt so isolating on the farm, with economic uncertainty and worry about what the future holds, and it just felt so good to high-five and hug so many of my colleagues from around the state. I was inspired by their bold statements: “Support Farmers, Not Billionaires,” “Wake Up America, This is a Coup” and simply “Solidarity.” These farmers were feisty and speaking their minds.
I was also heartened to feel so much support from non-farming protesters. One guy that I recognized as a singer from a rural open mic night said, “Man, I heard about this thing going on, and I just had to be there for the farmers.” I saw some customers from the farmers market, a lady from the local cycling club, and my neighbor’s mother who got on the megaphone to speak up for farmers. They carried signs of support that said, “No Farms=No Food,” “Pay the Farmers,” and “Honor the Contracts.”
(Courtesy of Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association)
(Courtesy of Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association)
(Courtesy of Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association)
(Courtesy of Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association)
(Courtesy of Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association)
(Courtesy of Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association)
(Courtesy of Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association)
Maine’s schoolchildren are also being betrayed by this administration’s order to cancel funding for local food purchasing in schools and to cut supplemental nutrition programs. Local food is part of the fabric of the community in our state; we love and are proud of our farmers and our kids. When farmers are squeezed, the entire community loses out—kids, families, schools and food banks. As farmers, we have mutual relationships with so many other local businesses, from repair shops and banks to Maine’s seed and supply companies. We will support each other no matter what, but we need this funding to keep building resiliency in our towns and our state.
Small farmers in Maine produce healthy crops that people actually eat, as opposed to commodity crops used mainly for fuel and processing. These farmers are some of the most selfless people you can find, giving so much to others and never asking for recognition. We’re smart business people, but most of us aren’t out to get rich; we farm because we care about people.
I joined this protest to add my voice to the chorus calling for a stop to these destructive cuts which will only benefit billionaires and hurt vulnerable people. I came away feeling inspired to keep telling it how it is. Next time I’ll bring my tractor—and maybe my manure spreader.
Ben Whatley has farmed organic vegetables and seedlings with his family since 2012 in Topsham, Maine. The majority of the farm's produce is sold year-round at farmers markets in the town of Brunswick next door, and is certified organic by the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association and given the Real Organic Project stamp of approval. Ben serves on the board of the Maine Federation of Farmers Markets, which among many things supports statewide nutrition and food access programs. Ben's favorite crop to grow and to teach others to grow is lettuce, because it's so easy and rewarding. Through workshops, organic plant sales, and donations to community and school gardens, Whatley Farm seeks to inspire new farmers and gardeners to start growing. Learn more on the farm's website, www.whatleyfarm.com, and follow the farm's story on Facebook and Instagram @whatleyfarm.
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