Senator Joe Major, vice chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee, told the Vermont House Agriculture Committee that S.60 "is to establish the farm security special fund to provide financial relief to Vermont farmers affected by severe weather conditions." The bill would create a new Farm Security Special Fund at the Agency of Agriculture to award grants for uninsured or otherwise uncovered losses caused by eligible weather events.

S.60 responds to increasing extreme weather losses cited for recent years: testimony and the bill text referenced statewide farm losses of about $44.7 million in 2023 and $13.5 million in 2024. Under the bill, the fund would reimburse up to 50% of uninsured or uncovered losses, capped at $150,000 per farm per year. Eligible reimbursements listed in the bill include lost wages, destroyed crops, debt payments, replanting costs, livestock feed replacement, equipment repairs and farm road repairs. The bill would amend 6 V.S.A. chapter 207 to add a new subchapter creating and governing the fund and sets an effective date in July 2025.

Michael Grady, who presented a section‑by‑section overview, said the statute would require the secretary of agriculture to develop income‑based award criteria, ensure language accessibility, and set a streamlined application. Applications deemed administratively complete would be reviewed by a board; the review board must recommend awards by majority vote within 15 days of a complete application, and the secretary would issue awards within 15 days of a recommendation — effectively a 30‑day turnaround from a complete submission. The review board would include the secretary (or designee), the state chief recovery officer, representatives of agricultural organizations, and two farmers who have received relief funding; members would serve staggered three‑year terms.

Committee members pressed on funding and operation. The bill as described by presenters included a $7,500,000 allotment from the general fund in fiscal year 2026; committee discussion and presenters noted that the Appropriations Committee had removed that appropriation in its version. As explained in the meeting, the statute could be enacted but remain inoperable until an appropriation is provided; committee members explored options including one‑time appropriations, contingency lines, or a capitalized fund to sustain ongoing awards.

Sponsors and witnesses told the committee the fund is intended partly to reach medium and small diversified farms that lack crop insurance and to provide faster, simpler relief than available federal programs. The committee also discussed operational details such as whether the agency would create new staff positions (presenters said the agency would use existing staffing to administer the program and convene the review board), how applications would remain open if funding runs out, and the criteria that would scale awards relative to a farm’s net income.

The bill has a companion House measure, H.229, and committee members asked for a side‑by‑side comparison of differences between the house and senate versions. Committee members and witnesses named multiple sources of testimony on the bill, including UVM Extension, the Vermont Farm Bureau, the Agency of Agriculture, farmers and farm advocates.

Where the bill stands: the committee discussion recorded here did not enact a final appropriations decision. Presenters and committee members repeatedly noted that the bill language would put the program into statute but that the program would not operate until funding is appropriated in a subsequent budget action or amendment.

Ending: Committee members deferred detailed funding decisions to appropriations and to ongoing budget negotiations; they also asked the Agency of Agriculture for operational clarifications such as the board’s appointment process, whether the fund would accept other revenue sources, and how the agency would handle applications if funding were temporarily exhausted.