Posted on 02/22/2025 4:15:22 AM PST by Oldeconomybuyer
Farmers across the U.S. are struggling to make critical decisions ahead of the spring thaw, as billions of dollars in promised federal payments remain frozen by the Trump administration.
Ang Roell, a farmer and beekeeper in Massachusetts, had planned to begin installing deer-proof fencing, mulch and an irrigation system for a recently planted orchard — an initiative supported by more than $30,000 in federal grants that are now on hold.
Without that money, Roell worries that when the chestnut trees and elderberry bushes begin to sprout leaves in just a few weeks, there will be nothing to stop deer from chewing up the baby leaves. And Roell said the farm will struggle to keep the plants regularly watered and weeded without the infrastructure it had been counting on.
“We risk losing the plants because we can’t keep up with the watering schedule,” Roell said. “The delay of time might not seem like a big deal for someone who is not a farmer. But it actually is.”
On his first day of office, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that paused the disbursement of all funds linked to former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which included $19.5 billion in agriculture-related conservation programs. The Trump administration also froze funds related to a separate $3.1 billion investment in “climate-smart” farm projects made under Biden.
The frozen funding was set to support projects including rotational grazing systems to improve soil health, waterways to reduce erosion, the installation of solar panels, and conversion from diesel to electric irrigation systems. Thousands of farmers have made plans and investments based on the promised funding, leaving some in financial peril, according to several groups that support farmers.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
Build yourself a deer stand.
Well, it is true. If you’ve built your business around dependency on the government, then the funding freeze will greatly impact your livelihood. And could very well impact fhe food supply.
Prepping for this as a small backyard garden is highly recommended.
Ang Roell (picture at link...)
My Story
My professional story isn’t linear. I paid my way through college by bartending overnights in a Miami Beach night club, set sail as a crew member on a solar powered sail boat and traversed the US teaching ecology & art in alternative educational spaces.
In 2010 I landed in Boston, where I studied radical education praxis with my mentors at Mission Hill School.
While attending graduate school, I volunteered with a collective of beekeepers. Together we started the Boston Area Beekeeper Association and the Boston Tour de Hives, a bicycle powered apiary tour of the greater Boston area.
https://www.theykeepbees.com/bio
Are we still paying farmers NOT to grow crops? If so that should be ended.
I grew up on a farm and we never got federal grants.
Oh yeah, Trump, the farmer’s best friend since FDR, is going to stand idly by and watch the farmers get screwed. Talk to some real farmers in sixty days and find out how helpful Trump was.
NBC ABSOLUTELY DESPERATE to find any group that it can portray as worthy that has been hit by a spending freeze.
They do so while studiously avoiding all the numerous examples of USAID being used as a Leftist slush fund to dole out taxpayer money to Stacey Abrams, Trannies, DEI, Leftist Media, Gun Grabbing, various Leftist groups, etc etc.
The 158th recipient is Ang Roell @theykeepbees in Great Falls, MA. Ang writes, “My name is Ang (they/them) and I’m a white, Slavic nonbinary first generation apiculturist AKA beekeeper.
Today bee farming is a way of rooting into queer and nonbinary futures in collaboration and connection to the Earth where I am now.
Remember everyone, these are all purpose-built hit pieces and not legitimate journalism.
volunteered with a collective of beekeepers
Is that where she got her hive mind?
“Well, it is true. If you’ve built your business around dependency on the government, then the funding freeze will greatly impact your livelihood. And could very well impact the food supply.”
Exactly Subsidies have created farmer who can’t farm without uncle paying them to grow(or not grow) something.
Why are we giving such grants to backyard gardener/”farmers”?
“””an initiative supported by more than $30,000 in federal grants that are now on hold.”””
When I see the word ‘grant’ it usually means that I am giving some of my tax payments to someone.
In Massachusetts, shooting deer with a rifle is not permitted. Only 12 gauge slugs. A tough shot from a tree stand.
“””where I studied radical education praxis”””
She needs to apply the education she learned here to get herself out of the jam she is in.
I really enjoy these Legacy Media stories about government grifters.
My deer are like pets. They are well-fed and no one is likely to take a shot at them.
I’ve even got one that comes up to the kitchen door with that “poor me why haven’t you refilled the bird feeder” look
They’ll just hang around my yard if their feeders are empty.
What stopped the deer last year and the years before?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.