I wish to inform the people of Butler County of the serious effects to our farms and conservation programs with the 2027 cuts to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

My husband is a fifth-generation Brady Township farmer and we raise grass-fed beef and lamb. The farmer’s goal is to produce a safe and accessible food supply with limited expenses and without extensive dependence on the government. People need to know that the 2027 White House budget plan for the USDA is very bleak.

The White House has proposed a 19% cut to the USDA’s 2027 discretionary budget! These cuts will eliminate the Food For Peace and the McGovern-Dole Food for Education programs. The administration continues to target SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) and WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) and will also cut $510 million from USDA’s research budget.

The big question is why all these cuts? The answer is the Pentagon is boosting its spending by 50%, from nearly $1 trillion today to $1.5 trillion in 2027, and the USDA is one place where this is coming from.

We farmers love what we do. Our production costs can be expensive, but we do our best to not increase our customers’ costs. All of us in agriculture will continue to work hard and provide the best product we can, but know that this present government has us running against a strong current that hurts the smaller farms, beginning farmers, programs focused on conservation and farmer’s markets.

Linda C. Snyder,

Brady Township