Think globally, act locally.
There’s no better time to act on these inspiring words than today. Especially when it comes to supporting local farmers who are reeling from heavy-handed budget cuts and a global trade war imposed by the Trump administration.

Just as consumers are closing their wallets to Amazon and Tesla for being too cozy to the president, they should be opening them for local farmers who are being punished for using climate smart and healthy soil practices that the administration derides as “green new deal social engineering.” Farmers also being steamrolled by budget cuts to healthy food programs used by thousands of families in Franklin County.

Consumers can help farmers weather these hits by buying at farm stands and farmers’ markets, including the Shelburne Falls and Greenfield Farmers Markets which run on Fridays and Saturdays. They can also buy seasonal farm shares, known as CSAs, from area farms. Or they can dine at area restaurants using locally grown meat and produce.

Still another step is to call your state legislators to restore $10 million of funding to the state’s Healthy Incentives Program (HIP) that feeds hungry people with locally grown food. After recent budget cuts, eligible families that used to get $40-80 a month to buy fresh, local produce now only get $20 a month. Rep. Hannah Kane, R-Shrewsbury, is leading an effort to reverse the cuts.

The recent tsunami of budget cuts and tariffs — coming on the heels of devastating floods in 2023 and a historic drought in 2022 — has local farmers wondering if they can survive.

“I am actually losing sleep worrying,” said Abby Ferla, manager of Foxtrot Farm in Ashfield, who lost a $45,000 grant in February and is now seeing fertilizer and other input costs spike due to the tariff war.

What happens next for farmers such as Ferla has consequences for everyone.

Consider the many benefits that farms provide in Franklin County:

■Hundreds of local jobs that generate taxes and economic vitality.

■Healthy locally grown food for public schools, food banks and everyday consumers.

■Pristine open landscapes that are the very fabric of the county.

■More people – many of them young – in a region with a shrinking population.

History makes clear we cannot take farming for granted.

The hundreds of dairy farms sprinkled across western Massachusetts a century ago now number only a few dozen. The fresh milk and butter that used to be delivered to local doorsteps is now mostly coming from the shelves of the Big Y and Stop & Shop.

Farmland is also disappearing. More than 110,000 acres of Massachusetts farmland has been converted to other uses in just the past 25 years.

But some of the trends are positive.

Massachusetts has seen a sharp increase in the number of small farms (under 10 acres) since the late 1990s, with more of them being run by women.

The buy local movement has also been growing. In 2022, Massachusetts farms reported over $254 million in direct local food sales, such as farmers’ markets, CSAs and local restaurants, a 15 percent jump from 2015.

Still, the spate of bad news in recent months has many farmers panicking.

Just as growers were finalizing their budgets, growing plans and marketing strategies, the rug was pulled out on them.

First, came the budget cuts: The Massachusetts Legislature cut millions of dollars of funding for the HIP program; then the U.S. Department of Agriculture canceled climate smart grants that many local farms had been promised. Broader federal programs such as Local Food for Schools and Local Food Purchase Assistance were also axed.

Next, came the tariff war, which is already triggering higher costs for grains and other materials that farmers buy from China and Canada.

Just as they’ve had to accept canceled federal contracts, farmers have little choice but to absorb higher operating costs.

“The bags that your produce is packed in: Made in China. The fertilizer inputs for crops: A lot of these come from Canada,” Ferla wrote in a recent Facebook post. “For anyone who thinks they can avoid the tariffs by shopping local: local products will increase noticeably in price.”

This is why Ferla cannot sleep.

“Will people still buy the value-added products I’ve worked so hard to create if they have to pay an additional $4-$5 for them to cover the increased cost of production and packaging?” she wrote.

Hopefully, the answer is an emphatic “yes.”

As much as folks can afford, now is the time to support local farmers.

Peyton Fleming is a journalist living in Ashfield.