Click Here for Pasa Federal Funding Freeze Resources.
Staff Furloughs
This has been an incredibly difficult week at Pasa, filled with many tearful “see-you-laters,” as yesterday marked the start of our phased staff furlough—a painful but necessary step due to the ongoing federal funding freeze, especially as it impacts our Climate-Smart Farming and Marketing program.
We remain committed to bringing back as many team members as possible, beginning with those who support our education, outreach, and soil health research programs as early as next week. In the meantime, a small core team remains in place to continue serving farmers. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we navigate this challenging period.
Lawsuit
Last week, our legal counsel—the Southern Environmental Law Center and Public Rights Project—filed a preliminary injunction to accelerate our lawsuit against the federal government.
This motion seeks urgent relief to restore the federal grants awarded to Pasa and our fellow plaintiffs under congressionally mandated programs. With no clear end to this indefinite funding freeze, taking swift legal action is essential. Along with the injunction, we are also requesting expedited discovery to move the case forward.
Celebrating Community & Connection
While the federal funding freeze continues to challenge us, it is precisely during these times of uncertainty that we are reminded of the importance and power of community.
As we reflect, we find ourselves looking back fondly on our 34th Conference—so much has happened recently that it’s hard to believe it was just two short months ago!
We are so grateful for this beloved annual event and the opportunity it presents to gather together for learning and connection—and that’s something worth celebrating.
To the more than 1,600 attendees who joined us in learning, sharing, and growing together, and to the countless others who supported the Conference in other ways: thank you.
We are deeply grateful for the time we spent together and the inspiration it continues to bring today.
It feels more important now than ever to continue fostering community and inspiring more allies to fight for sustainable farms and food systems.
Please enjoy this photo gallery of our time spent together at #Pasa2025, and special thanks to photographer Anh Thai for capturing the spirit of this community so beautifully.
We hope you enjoy revisiting these special moments as much as we did putting them together.
Immigrants Feed Us
As we close out #FarmWorkerAwarenessWeek, we lift up the majority immigrant workforce that feeds us and take a look back at our Farm and Food Worker Relief Program.
The US food system depends on a majority immigrant workforce, including 80% of farmworkers, many of whom face hazardous working conditions, exploitative labor practices, and unsafe housing but fear to speak up because of the threats of employer retaliation and deportation.
While many farm and food business owners were eligible for support programs during the pandemic, most frontline workers on farms and in meatpacking plants were left out.
In 2022, Pasa was one of 15 organizations selected by the USDA to distribute one-time $600 relief payments through the Farm and Food Workers Relief Program.
Over the last 18 months, we processed over 58,000 applications from workers across the northeast.
As this program comes to its natural conclusion (unrelated to the federal funding freeze), we must also recognize our incredible team that supported it.
They worked tirelessly to process applications, both over the phone and at mobile application events held across multiple states in collaboration with multiple partner organizations.
But their efforts went beyond that—Pasa’s FFWR team worked with spirit and tenacity to continuously advocate for those who are the heartbeat of our nation’s food system.
To our FFWR colleagues: thank you; gracias por todo.
Click Here to learn more about this program.
Why We’ll Keep Fighting
The sting from the federal funding freeze has been widely felt across our community and organization.
While we’ve been collecting stories from farmers and others affected, we’ve been touched by outpouring of support for Pasa and those who believe in our mission--
"Pasa is one of the few farming organizations that specifically address the needs of people who farm full time, but on a small scale. They help our farm gain valuable peer-to-peer knowledge through many avenues.
“The Soil Health Benchmark Study has helped our farm evaluate the impact of different cover cropping and tillage practices on our soil health using solid data that can be tracked over time.
The Financial Benchmark Study breaks the taboo of talking about money, and helps shed light on ways to make farming work financially."
"Pasa is more than how I level up my farming skills. It's also my support network of like-minded people seeking to build a better world.”
"The [Pasa] Conference literally gave us the confidence and inspiration we needed to move toward starting our own operation—I can't stress enough how life-changing it was."
"I have been running my own farm business for 16 years, and Pasa's programmatic offerings and research studies have been the most valuable of any agricultural service provider that I've worked with."
Continuing Updates
We will continue to keep our community informed as we learn more. Thank you for standing with us.
Click Here for Pasa Federal Funding Freeze Resources.
For more information on programs, initiatives, research, educational opportunities and how you can get involved, visit the Pasa Sustainable Agriculture website or follow them on Facebook and Twitter. Click Here to sign up for regular updates. Click Here to become a member.
Related Articles This Week:
-- Penn State Extension Center For Agricultural Assistance Training Recognizes Sen. Martin, Sen. Yaw For Ag Conservation Leadership [PaEN]
-- PASA Sustainable Agriculture Begins Staff Furloughs; Federal Funding To Support Farmers Still Frozen [PaEN]
-- PA Dept. Of Agriculture Accepting Applications For Sustainable Agriculture Grants Starting April 21 [PaEN]
-- PA Dept. Of Agriculture Expands Spotted Lanternfly Quarantine Area To Bradford, Sullivan, Venango, Wyoming Counties [PaEN]
NewsClips:
-- Lancaster Farming: PA Agricultural Conservation Assistance Program Is Helping Ag Conservation Projects Get Done
-- Spotlight PA: Proposed $25 Million Cut To State Bird Flu Aid For Farmers Could Leave PA Unprepared For Surge, Republican Lawmakers Fear
-- Post-Gazette: State Officials Visit Pittsburgh Food Bank To Push Back Against Cuts To Anti-Hunger Programs, Harm To Farmers
-- Beaver Times: Funding Cuts, Tariffs: What Federal Shakeups Could Mean For PA Agriculture
-- AP: China Announces 34% Across-The-Board Tariff On All US Imports, Farm Products; Adopts Export Controls On Rare Earth Minerals [PA Exported $3.5 Billion In Products To China, $2.6 Billion In Farm Products]
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