WA Agriculture Industry Receives $1.5 Million to Assist New Farmers

WA Agriculture Industry Receives $1.5 Million to Assist New Farmers

Programs will provide new farmers with training and assistance to successfully start new farms

EDMONDS, WA - Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) announced $1.5 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to programs that will assist new agricultural workers in Washington state. The programs aim to provide farmers with the training and assistance to successfully start new farms, and target groups traditionally underserved by USDA grants.

The grants come from the USDA's 2501 program, which helps underserved farmers, ranchers, and foresters who have historically had limited access to USDA programs and services, and the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development program.

• $750,000 to Wakulima USA to provide support to disadvantaged new and beginning farmers. This grant focuses on increasing farmland access, improving production skills and facilities, establishing and expanding market connections, and providing a support system for immigrant and refugee farmers. This program is refugee- and immigrant-led, and will assist farmers in South King County.
• $749,997 to the International Rescue Committee to help refugees, asylees, and immigrants achieve stability and flourish after resettlement throughout the U.S. This program will assist new farmers in South King County and Salt Lake County, UT, in growing their farm businesses by teaching skills and providing marketing opportunities and access to resources.
• $49,014 to the Washington Farmland Trust to provide personalized support to beginning farmers and ranchers seeking to acquire farmland. This program helps farmers develop relationships with landowners and teaches them the skills to evaluate prospective farmland before purchasing it. This project will provide 50 new farmers across Washington state with the support to establish their farm businesses.

Sen. Cantwell has been a consistent champion of Washington state's agriculture industry, which is vital to the state's economy. Agriculture and food manufacturing generate more than $21 billion per year and employ more than 171,000 people. Small and family farms are key contributors, making up 89% and 96%, respectively, of Washington's farms. In March 2024, Sen. Cantwell announced that Washington's sweet cherry growers would be eligible for up to $500,000 in emergency loans following a disaster declaration for 2023's cherry harvest season. A month earlier, she had sent a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack urging him to expedite the disaster declaration.

In September 2023, India ended its retaliatory tariffs on American apples and pulse crops following several years of Sen. Cantwell's advocacy. In May 2023, Sen. Cantwell sent a letter urging the Biden Administration to help U.S. potato growers finally get approval to sell fresh potatoes in Japan. In June 2023, Sen. Cantwell hosted U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), chair of the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, in Washington state for a forum with 30 local agricultural leaders in Wenatchee to discuss the Farm Bill.

In August 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sen. Cantwell sent a letter to then-Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue requesting aid funds be distributed to wheat growers. In December 2018, Sen. Cantwell celebrated the passage of the Farm Bill, which included $500 million of assistance for farmers, including those who grow wheat.

In 2019, Sen. Cantwell helped secure a provision in the $16 billion USDA relief package, ensuring sweet cherry growers could access emergency funding to offset the impacts of tariffs and other market disruptions.