Federal Funding Freeze Mobilization Tools

In much of the country, spring is on its way. For farmers and ranchers, it’s time for planting decisions, for calving and lambing, and for lining up their financial capital and markets for a busy season.

But this year, it’s different: across the country, tens of thousands of farmers and farmer-serving organizations have been thrown into limbo by an unprecedented freeze of federal funding. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is currently withholding payments owed under signed, lawful contracts, causing turmoil across the food system.

This is already causing serious harm in our communities: This means farmers who’ve already installed new irrigation equipment or planted cover crops with support from USDA are now unable to receive the reimbursements they were promised, jeopardizing their financial stability. Organizations who train and support farmers are instead having to lay off staff. These immediate impacts could compound and lead to further suffering without swift intervention from Congress.

How to Get Involved

Congress can act to fix this, BUT they need to hear directly from the people. From the people who are affected and those who care about our local farmers, our neighbors, and the organizations that help us strengthen our communities.

Please use the resources below created by the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) to take action! You can call and write to your members of Congress to demand they step up and honor their commitments to our farmers and communities.

*If you’re an organic farmer who has funds frozen, please complete this survey so OFA can better measure the impact and show Congress the consequences of their inaction. 

Find contact information for your members of Congress on govtrack.us and use the templates below to start your outreach.

Farmer Phone Call Script

Hello, 

My name is (your name), and I’m a farmer in (your town and state) and a constituent of Sen./Rep. (your member of Congress)’s. I am calling because I am infuriated over the funding freezes and cancelled contracts being carried out by President Trump’s Administration. The USDA has made promises to American farmers and ranchers in the form of contracts, and must honor the lawful agreements that producers like me count  on for operating loans, planting decisions, conservation practices, and more. Abandoning America’s farmers will not only affect farms, but will have disastrous effects on the availability and price of food for all of us.   

(Use this space to explain how the funding freezes are affecting your farm, including if you are not able to reach your local USDA agency office).

I am counting on you as my elected representative to swiftly address this issue. You have the power to prevent future harm by demanding that USDA immediately unfreeze all funds, honor all signed contractual agreements, and reverse the staff terminations affecting county offices so we can avoid further harm and suffering to farms and farming communities across the country. 

Thank you for taking my call.

Supporter Phone Call Script

Hello, 

My name is (your name), and I am a constituent of Rep./Sen. (your member of Congress). I am calling because I am appalled at seeing the federal government going back on the promises they’ve made to the people, especially to farmers. When our farmers suffer ALL of us feel that pain at the grocery store. 

(Optional: If there is an organization/program at risk in your community, elaborate on the impacts here.) 

We need Rep./Sen. (your member of Congress) to stand with the farmers, ranchers, and organizations in our community. You have the power to prevent harm by demanding that USDA releases funding and honors its commitments now!

Thank you for taking my call.

You don’t need to start from scratch to write a letter to your members of Congress! Use our tool to ask your legislators to speak up and defend the programs they have authorized or the email templates below.

Email Template for Farmers

If you have an existing relationship with a Hill staffer, we encourage you to send this email directly to them. It’s important to include as many additional details as you can, personalized emails have a greater impact.

Hello, my name is [your name], and I am a farmer in [your state – or the MoC’s specific district if you do work there]. I am a [farmer/rancher/producer] and a recipient of [insert USDA program name(s)]. All federal agencies, including USDA, are under two court orders requiring the release of lawfully obligated funds under lawfully contracted and signed agreements. 

However, [we are still unable to receive funds AND/OR we received a cancellation notice from USDA Program Name]. This abrupt and unilaterally illegal decision is causing immediate harm to my business and the community that we serve in [your town, district, state, or region]. 

As our [Senator/Representative for your state], we are counting on you to swiftly mitigate further harm. We need you to exercise your Congressional oversight duty and demand that USDA Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins:

  • Immediately lift all funding freezes as ordered by the US District Courts on January 31 and February 3, honor all existing contractual agreements, and issue due payments and reimbursements. [Add specific examples here if you can]
  • Halt and reverse indiscriminate firings of USDA staff. These actions have impacted our [state/district] by further reducing the USDA’s already-understaffed capacity, while will result in poor customer service for farmers and worsen the existing backlog of applications for programs. [Add specific examples here if you can]

I would like to request a follow-up response from the office about how the agency intends to comply with the law and ensure farmers and organizations with active signed agreements may continue undertaking critical work in our community in accordance with our contracts. It is urgent, and I will be considering all of this in the next election. If there’s any additional information or testimony we can provide to help you submit your inquiry to USDA, please let us know as we are eager to work with your office to remedy this situation. 

Thank you for your time and consideration, and we look forward to hearing back from you, 

[your name]

Email Template for Supporters

Hello, my name is [your name], and I live and work in [your town, state]. As a community member who depends on our local farmers, I am deeply concerned about how the Executive Branch’s reckless orders are indiscriminately harming all of us. Despite multiple court orders, I am still hearing from trusted members of our community that funding from contracts is inaccessible, and sometimes even withdrawn completely.

[Elaborate with examples if you can – personalized emails have a greater impact]

It is devastating to see inaction from Congress, we need you to stand up for your constituents! We elected you to represent us and advocate in our best interest, and you have the power to prevent future harm by ordering USDA to lift the federal funding freeze now, honor all contractual agreements, and halt and reverse indiscriminate firings. 

Thank you for your time and consideration,

[your name]

Social Media Messages

Tagging your member of Congress on social media is another great way to get their attention! You can find them and their contact information at GovTrack.us: Tracking the U.S. Congress. There is usually an official website listed where you may find their social media profiles linked. 

Hey (Your member of Congress)! Farmers and rural communities in (your state) are counting on you to stop the chaotic and reckless funding freeze at USDA that leaves farmers out to dry and will drive up food prices at the store.

(Your member of Congress) Congress must assert its Constitutional power and stop the unlawful defunding of our government and firing of our federal workforce supporting the work of (your state) farmers, ranchers, and livelihoods of rural Americans.

(Your member of Congress) Congress must do its job and uphold Constitutional authority to ensure signed contracts are honored across government. All (your state) communities, both rural and urban, will lose imperative services without direct action by Congress.

(Your member of Congress) the government must honor its contracts and fund programs Congress voted for and approved to support (your state) farmers and rural communities.

(Your member of Congress) Farming coalitions and nutrition advocates won’t tolerate being pitted against each other! Together, we advocate for strong, resilient farm bill programs that serve both farmers and families in need.

The programs DOGE is targeting as “wasteful” have always been operating on razor thin margins. They exist because a member of our community identified a serious need, and put in the time and effort into offering tailored resources. This is a labor of love and care that makes our community stronger. (Your member of Congress) we need immediate intervention from Congress, or else it could take decades to rebuild these programs, if we don’t lose these vital resources all together.

Social Media Graphics to Use

To download images, please select the download button. When the new browser tab opens, right click and select “Save image as…” to complete the download. If another format or file type is needed, please reach out to the media contact.

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Thank you to National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition (NSAC) for providing members like OFA these resources to mobilize communities to stand up for organic farmers!

Follow NSAC on social media and learn more about their work.

Additional Funding Freeze Resources