BOSTON — As farmers prepare to head out to the fields for the season, Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources Commissioner Ashley Randle sent a letter to the new U.S. agriculture secretary expressing concerns over uncertain federal funding and other actions taken by the federal government.

On March 6, Randle, the first woman to lead MDAR and a Deerfield native, sent her letter to Brooke Rollins, who was confirmed to lead the United States Department of Agriculture on Feb. 13, sharing the concerns Massachusetts farmers have shared with MDAR over the federal grant funding freeze and ongoing cuts to USDA staffing.

Randle wrote that she recognizes the importance of the Trump administration’s role in “evaluating programs and funding opportunities to ensure alignment with priorities and values,” but continuity of services between administrations needs to be maintained.

“Equally important is continuity of services and existing assurances to the communities you serve, to ensure both progress of current activities and long-term sustainability based on trust and shared commitment to success,” Randle wrote to Rollins. “I urge you to complete your review of USDA’s work quickly, and to honor all outstanding contractual obligations to farmers and the organizations and institutions that support them.”

In an interview, Randle said mass layoffs to vital programs such as the Natural Resources Conservation Service and cuts to grants, like the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, which she described as a “game-changer,” threaten food security and the local food system as a whole.

Additionally, Randle highlighted the “significant amount of Massachusetts farmland with agricultural easements held in part by USDA,” which could devalue federal interests because of reduced service offered to farmers.

Piling the uncertainties of the funding cuts and freeze of federal grants on top of the general uncertainty farmers face in the field every year creates a difficult environment for farmers to survive, Randle said.

“What really caused me to write the letter was the uncertainty of the pause and termination of some of our grant programs that we’ve been able to access through USDA,” Randle said Thursday. “In talking with my Northeast colleagues, the reduction of program funding and services comes at a time farmers are already facing climate uncertainty and market uncertainty is really concerning.”

Programs like the Local Food Purchase Assistance Cooperative Agreement Program, which helps states provide funding to procure and distribute locally grown food, provide many benefits to every state in the nation, according to Randle.

“Across the board, red state, blue state, that program was a success and we were all unified in saying this helped our farmers,” Randle said. “I think this decision, unfortunately, has had a cascading effect of impact. … When you take that opportunity away, it changes how [local farms are] planning market access over the next few years.”

In her letter, Randle also addresses the ongoing dispute between farmers and the USDA over grants and contracts that have already been signed. Several farms locally have had funds withheld, including Red Fire Farm in Montague and Granby, which has now joined a lawsuit in Washington D.C. suing the USDA; and Foxtrot Farm in Ashfield, which had a $35,000 contract canceled by Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency.

Foxtrot Farm had planned to use grant funding and federal reimbursements for supplies and climate-sustainable farming infrastructure, according to owner Abby Ferla, who told the Greenfield Recorder in late February that she had “the rug pulled from underneath her.”

“We continue to hear from farmers about grants that they had signed contracts for. They expended the funds and then they submitted for reimbursements,” Randle said in an interview, noting these are significant investments that, if not reimbursed for the money they signed a contract for, could impact the “overall viability” of these farms. “With the number of grant programs and crop-protection programs that the farms in Franklin County and western Massachusetts take advantage of, the farmers are certainly feeling that.”

Still, Randle said there are some silver linings “amidst the chaos,” as the state is pushing to try to fill the gaps when possible. She pointed to Rep. Natalie Blais and Sen. Jo Comerford being named the chair and vice chair of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Agriculture, respectively, as great news because the two legislators have been champions of Massachusetts farmers.

She also said the Massachusetts culture of banding together and supporting one another will help farmers weather the uncertain federal landscape ahead, as the state, businesses, nonprofits and individuals can form effective partnerships, just as they have in the past.

“Our communities … do step up,” Randle said, adding that the local network in Franklin County is particularly strong. “We’re continuing to stay true to our values and our mission at the department … recognizing that the community partnership and continued communications across the board are going to get us through the next several years.”

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.