Farmers, environmentalists and state Rep. Kyle Donahue criticized the U.S. Department of Agriculture for cutting its Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program during a press event at Nay Aug Park.
Speakers at Wednesday’s event said the program would have funded climate-resilient crops and conservation efforts on smaller farms, but USDA pulled its funding before farmers could complete their projects. They argued USDA and the Trump Administration drained funding sources from small, diverse farms in favor of large-scale corporate farms.
Climate Action Campaign, a coalition of environmental organizations like Earthjustice and the Sierra Club, hosted the press conference at Nay Aug’s Schimilfenig Pavilion in Scranton.
Donahue said Pennsylvania’s lawmakers need to step up to protect the state’s agricultural interests from the effects of climate change.
“Farmers are on the front lines of the climate crisis. They're facing longer droughts, severe storms, unpredictable growing seasons and rising heat that not only destroys crops and livestocks, but puts farm workers' lives at risk. Climate change is not just a future threat, it's here. It's costing us,” Donahue (D-Scranton) said.
He said the Farm Bureau found that total losses to crops and rangeland for livestock from major 2024 weather and fire events across the nation exceed $20 billion. The representative argued that many of Pennsylvania’s farms have taken action to prevent future losses, but USDA eliminated vital funding for farms to transition to conservation practices.
“Funding cuts, particularly to USDA conservation and climate-smart programs, have left small and traditionally underserved farms in limbo.”
USDA cancelled the climate-smart program in April. Secretary Brooke Rollins said in the department’s press release the program was “largely built to advance the green new scam at the benefit of NGOs (non-governmental organizations), not American farmers.”
Funding from the program was redirected to the Advancing Markets for Producers initiative, which previously funded farmers can re-apply to.
USDA did not respond to requests for comment.
Donahue said USDA previously estimated the program would have supported over 60,000 farms and would have the environmental impact of removing over 12 million gas-powered cars off the road.
“This isn't just about funding. It's about fairness in the future, while while small farms see their support slashed, large industrial farms are receiving more taxpayer subsidies than ever, including billions through programs like AMP (Advancing Markets for Producers initiative) that prioritize market expansion over climate resilience.
Pennsylvania farmers demand financial assistance against climate change
Mary Jayne Zemer, co-owner of six-acre Wild Notion Farms in Falls, argued the cut hurts small farmers’ ability to adapt to climate change. She said her farm’s yields of garlic and microgreens this year were dramatically cut by inclement weather and warned that the region’s food system could be at risk.
“Farmers function … as an early warning signal about climate change, because we're seeing impacts to food before you're seeing things go missing at the grocery store or at the farmers market,” Zemer said.
She and other speakers pushed for Pennsylvania’s legislators to finance a regional food system, which would support local small and mid-sized farms.
Liz Krug, co-owner of 30-acre Endless Roots Farm in Waverly, said regional food systems connect farmers to the community and offer security against food shortages. Her farm counted on climate-smart funding to purchase sorghum-sudangrass as a cover crop to ward off erosion and planned to plant blueberries with the remainder of its funding.
She said she’s stewarded over her land for the last 12 years and has seen the growing effects of climate change.
“We have colder, wetter springs, big rain events that drop a large amount of rain at one time and long stretches of drought. This May alone, we had 10 inches of rainfall. That's a little more than a quarter of our annual rainfall in one month,” Krug said. “All of these changes in the climate lead to decreased yields, disruption in our planting and harvesting schedules and soil erosion."
Clancy Harrison said programs like the cancelled Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities made Pennsylvania’s food system more resilient against climate change and supported local economies. She founded Food Dignity, a Northeast Pennsylvania-based agricultural nonprofit that connects small farms to farmers markets around the region.
“[Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities] helped small farmers reduce their soil erosion and reduce carbon pollution. This allowed them to grow more food for all of us,” she said.
She said programs that support small farmers finance workforce development, national security and public health by putting resources into the hands of agricultural communities.
“Supporting our small farmers isn't a partisan issue. It's common sense, especially for all of us who want to eat food [that is] locally sourced, nutrient-dense … [and] good for the environment,” Harrison said.
Daniel Swartz, rabbi at Scranton’s Temple Hesed and executive director of the Coalition on Environment and Jewish Life said USDA and Congress broke its promises to American farmers and families by cutting federal funding to agricultural programs.
“Far too many families that were already scrambling to provide food for their children are facing food prices that are out of their reach. And by not investing in sustainable farms, Congress is selling out the future of our children and grandchildren,” Swartz said.
Swartz pushed Pennsylvanians to vote in the upcoming November election for legislators who will vote for sustainable agriculture.
