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“Fires and farmers” was the title of Tamar Reno’s article in the March 30 edition of our Tryon Daily Bulletin. If you didn’t read it, I encourage you to do so. 

Besides writing about the fires we’ve experienced in Polk County, Ms. Reno wrote about government cuts that will have a negative impact on our farmers. When our farmers are affected, we all are affected.

She informed us that “The Farm Service Agency in Henderson County, the location closest to Polk County, is closing, along with dozens of USDA locations. FSA offices provide assistance to small farmers like our neighbors.” 

She also reported that the Local Food Purchase Assistance program, “which provides funds to food banks to purchase food directly from local farms has been canceled, as has a similar program that supplied local food to schools. TK Family Farm is one of Polk’s farms selling to schools.”

The TK Family Farm has not been paid for food already delivered to our schools because the funds have been frozen. 

I encourage you to write or call our federal elected representatives to express your concerns about these cuts. I’m not a farmer and no one in my family is any longer a farmer, but this will have a negative impact on our lives, and our local farmers. 

 

Robbie ter Kuile

 

Tryon