Jason Grostic, an organic beef farmer in Michigan, was blindsided when he was ordered to cease all sales and operations in January 2021 after state testing found elevated levels of “forever chemicals” in his meat.
Two and a half years later and no soil remediation options, he’s still barred from selling his farm’s products.
“All the money I had saved, the equipment I owned, the land that I had for retirement, I’ve got none of that now,” Grostic said.
He and his family are not alone in finding their land and crops contaminated with “forever chemicals,” or PFAS, in the United States. It’s difficult to say just how widespread this problem is due to testing limitations, but estimates from the Environmental Working Group suggest these harmful chemicals could be polluting nearly 20 million acres of cropland, more than 20% of all U.S. farmland.
PFAS, short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are a family of human-made chemicals used in many products that can contaminate soil and water for more than 1,000 years. Studies suggest PFAS exposure can lead to higher cholesterol levels, thyroid disease, increased risk of high blood pressure or pre-eclampsia in pregnant women, and increased risk of kidney or testicular cancer.
Some farmers are recently learning about contamination to their land as states like Maine and Michigan begin to expand testing for the chemicals. But with limited support from state and federal governments to clean up the soils, affected farms may have no choice but to close up shop entirely.
Now, in a bid to spur federal action, some farmers are pushing for financial relief in the upcoming farm bill and suing the Environmental Protection Agency for its alleged role in failing to prevent these toxic chemicals from contaminating crops, livestock and water supplies.
“Farms should not be left holding the burden for PFAS contamination, which really happened through no fault of their own,” said Sarah Alexander, executive director of Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners, which recently joined the lawsuit against the EPA.
How ‘forever chemicals’ infiltrate the farm
For decades, the EPA has encouraged farmers to spread biosolids — or byproducts of the wastewater process — onto their lands as fertilizer. The method has been touted as a cheaper and more sustainable way to grow crops.
While biosolids have been used as fertilizers for centuries, the rise of industrialization has made sewage sludge more prone to contamination. In the last few years, high PFAs levels have largely been found in farms with heavy groundwater contamination, though many worry that the spread of biosolids also allows these chemicals to accumulate in crops.
Grostic had used biosolids from a local wastewater treatment plant that was later found to be discharging an “alarming” level of PFAS. The chemicals entered the Huron River from an auto parts supplier that used the chemicals in the manufacturing process.
After testing revealed high PFAS levels in Grostic’s beef, Michigan issued a consumer advisory notice warning the meat could pose a health risk with prolonged consumption. Grostic was also ordered to stop selling his products.
“I allowed the biosolids to be applied to my soil,” said Grostic, who is now suing the auto supplier. “I wish I would have never, never touched it.”
Similar stories have played out elsewhere in the country. In Maine, which has some of the strongest PFAS regulations in the United States, at least 60 farms have been designated with unsafe levels of “forever chemicals,” according to Alexander, of Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners. The state not only banned the application of biosolids in 2022, but is also testing every location with a biosolid permit for potential groundwater or soil contamination.
As more farms are likely revealed to be contaminated, stakeholders say farmers will need financial and technical support to clean up operations and remain in business. Maine, for example, established a $60 million emergency fund to provide farmers with income replacement during the recovery process or to purchase contaminated farmland in cases where no remediation options exist.
However, resources like those in Maine are nearly nonexistent in other states including Michigan, which has biosolid monitoring requirements. In those cases, farmers like Grostic are left on their own.
“You can’t go forward testing farmers and shutting them down like they did me; that’s not the way to handle it,” Grostic said.
Farms press for federal action
Contamination from PFAS imperils farmer livelihoods beyond just finances: It also affects farmer health and threatens rural communities’ ability to thrive.
In a bid to spur federal action, a group of farmers from the agricultural community of Johnson County, Texas, have recently sued the EPA in hopes of forcing the agency to set limits on PFAS in biosolids. The suit, filed in April, claims the agency has failed to live up to its obligations under the Clean Water Act to identify and regulate toxic pollutants including PFAS.
“The county is concerned about the potential for widespread drinking water contamination within the County and losses to its cultural heritage and reputation as a healthy place to live and farm,” Johnson County officials wrote in the lawsuit, noting farmers have reported health problems and livestock deaths.
As more farmers press for action on PFAS, Maine continues to act as a national leader when it comes to the regulation of “forever chemicals.” Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners joined the Texas suit in July, and the state’s congressional delegation has pushed for the upcoming farm bill to include $500 million in grant funding to track and clean PFAS on agricultural land and in farm products.
In the meantime, farmers dealing with contaminated land have begun to adapt operations and find ways to thrive. Within ranching, farmers can feed animals clean water and feed to ensure that their meat isn’t contaminated, Alexander said.
And while remediation is not an option for soil given current science, farmers can try growing different crops or planting in areas where contamination may be less, said Tricia Rouleau, Maine Farmland Trust Director. Some contaminated lands could even be used for solar panels to create steady income from creating clean energy.
Since PFAS accumulate more in leafy greens, grasses and legumes, and less in fruits and grains such as corn, some farmers have had luck altering what they grow and harvest. Others are able to test and use different parts of various crops.
“Different parts of a corn plant take up PFAS at very different levels. So, some farmers might be able to harvest and use the entire plant,” Rouleau said, adding that contamination levels can vary wildly even on a single farm property. “Some farmers might be able to harvest just the kernels depending on a PFAS uptake.”
However, cost still remains the biggest barrier to addressing PFAS contamination. Prior to passing its $60 million relief fund, Alexander noted one case where a Maine dairy farmer decided to close operations because of the costs involved with procuring clean water and feed systems.
To effectively address farm contamination on a national scale, regulation will need to be paired with financial assistance, Alexander said, if these farms are to survive.
“We know that many farms out there have spread sludge,” Alexander said. “We want to prevent this from being an issue for future generations and more farms.”