Ag department sued after climate change data pulled

WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) — The U.S. Department of Agriculture is being sued by a group representing some farmers and two environmental not-for-profits.

According to the Washington Post, USDA scrubbed climate change data from its web site.

The lawsuit argues USDA’s actions hurt farmers who used the data to plan “agricultural decisions” and access funding, made it more difficult for climate researchers and advocates to do their jobs, and “deprived the public” of “vital information,” according to the Post.

“You cannot deny that we have more extreme weather. Floods, droughts, fires- you name it, hurricanes, and farmers need to adopt,” said Dani Baker, co-owner of Cross Island Farms on Wellesley Island..

“They need to change their practices so they can continue to farm in the face of these changes. This website provided information about the changes, but also about access to funding to make the changes that farmers need to make, and that’s all been wiped away,” Baker said.

Cross Island Farms is a member of the Northeast Organic Farming Association, (NOFA), which is one of the groups suing the USDA.

Baker and David Belding have lived on the farm for 20 years.

Their farm process is entirely organic, and they rely on USDA climate change information for ‘climate-smart ‘farming.

The Trump administration has reversed many of the climate measures taken by the Biden administration, and references to climate change or global warming have been struck from government web sites.

“How is it that someone outside the congress can decide it’s not available anymore. I don’t think that’s legal and I think that’s the basis of the suit,” said Baker.

NOFA-NY’s lawsuit asserts the USDA is violating three federal laws: the Freedom of Information Act, the Paperwork Reduction Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act.

Still, David Belding, the other owner of Cross Island F arms, says this shouldn’t be considered a political issue.

“Whether you’re red or blue, you’re still affected the same way,” Belding said.

Baker and Belding say they’re worried that losing access to climate information could affect food production.

“The American Farmland Trust has a motto: ‘No farms, no food.’ Without the resources that the USDA used to have posted, there may be no farms and then there’ll be no food,” Baker said.

USDA referred questions from The Washington Post to the Justice Department, which declined to comment.

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