Pingree told Civil Eats that farmers in her state are looking for help more than ever as the climate crisis gets worse. “I think we have to stay consistent in our beliefs that these are important priorities for farmers, not only to help them weather some of the difficult climate changes which aren’t going away, but also for economic viability in what’s going to be an increasingly challenging time,” she said.

At a protest against USDA funding and staff cuts in Maine last week, she said, two blueberry growers said they lost grant funding they had been using to apply mulch to their fields, which helped retain water and protect them against drought. “Drought used to be a very rare thing in Maine, and now we have to worry about it,” Pingree said. “These are investments that they didn’t feel like they would have been able to make without this outside funding.” Dozens of farm and environmental groups have also already endorsed the bill.

Still, Pingree admitted garnering support for the bill’s ideas in Congress will be a serious challenge. She said she’s interested in trying to tap into the support in the Republican party for Health and Human Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr.’s ideas around improving American health.

“I know in my own state there are people who are big supporters of RFK and are also big supporters of organic farming or eating more healthy food, so I’m just hoping we can translate some of that to the Washington agenda,” she said.

The bill’s provisions are intended to be attached to a farm bill, but there’s no clear path for Congress to get one done anytime soon. Pingree said the important thing is to introduce the Agriculture Resilience Act and start to build support for the different sections now, so that if a farm bill does move, she’ll be ready. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-New Mexico) also introduced a Senate version of the bill. (Link to this post.)