The U.S. government shutdown might be over by the time you read this, but as of Nov. 10, it was still in effect. The shutdown hasn’t caused me to lose health care or go hungry, but it has delayed payments from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to my farm. As a result of these delays, I am unable to pay contractors who have completed USDA-approved work.
No matter how meticulous a farmer is, runoff from livestock farms can carry manure-
contaminated water. The Farm Service Administration, a branch of the USDA, provides matching funds to farms to create drainage systems designed to keep manure out of streams and rivers. Most farmers couldn’t afford these expensive but effective systems, so without government help, we’d have a lot more contaminated surface water, and who wants to drink dirty water?
Supported by a contract I signed with FSA, contractors spent a week moving earth, installing holding tanks and drainage systems. The work was completed on Oct. 3, three days after the shutdown had occurred. Despite the promise of payment as soon as the job was finished, six weeks have passed with no reimbursement. With all the chaos at the federal level, who knows if I’ll get payment after the shutdown ends?
When honorable individuals make promises and sign contracts, they keep their word. The federal government should be held to the same standard or even a higher one. The trust of food-stamp recipients, Obamacare enrollees, air traffic controllers, and millions of others (including me) is being disappointed and betrayed.
Because my patient contractors are willing to wait for payment, my cattle’s manure is not contaminating our water systems. But shutdown or no shutdown, the foul, bad-faith effluent of the current regime flows uncontained out of Washington.
Carole Soule is co-owner of Miles Smith Farm. She can be reached at carole@soulecoaching.com. Carole is also a certified Life Coach who helps humans and K9s achieve the impossible a little at a time.