Take Action to Protect Illinois Farmers!

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Dear [elected official],

Illinois is an agricultural leader with great expectations to feed our communities, our nation, and the world. As a result of the federal funding freeze and delayed farm bill, Illinois farmers and farmer-serving organizations have been thrown into limbo. US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is withholding payments owed under signed, lawful contracts, causing turmoil across the food system.

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Vital programs that support Illinois farms and feed our communities are frozen, such as Illinois Equitable Access Towards Sustainable Systems (IL-EATS), Local Food Purchasing Agreement, Resilient Food Systems Infrastructure Program (RFSI) in addition to critical conservation programs in the Farm Bill including the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP) and Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP).

These programs help new and beginning farmers, support local food purchasing, bolster the food supply chain, and make healthy local food more affordable are at risk. Most, if not all farmers rely on the education and training, technical support, grant funding, and support network created by these programs that help their businesses grow and thrive and ensure our communities are fed.

Please exercise your Congressional oversight and urge USDA Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins:

1) 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.
2) Halt and reverse indiscriminate firings of USDA staff. These actions have impacted our Illinois, will  result in poor customer service for farmers, and worsen the backlog of applications for programs.

As a constituent, I am counting on you to swiftly mitigate further harm.

Stand with the farmers, ranchers, and organizations in our community. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely, [Your information here]