Senate Agriculture committee opts to keep farm-security bill unchanged, rejects amendment limiting awards

The Vermont Senate Agriculture Committee on March 20 voted in committee to keep a proposed farm-security assistance bill unchanged and declined an amendment that would have limited the number of awards a single farm could receive to three in any previous 10-year period.

The amendment, moved by Senator Horchke during the committee meeting, would have added language directing the secretary to “establish criteria for awards under the program, including determining the amount or level based on the annual net income on the farm and in relation to the median net income of all farms in Vermont, limiting the number of awards an individual applicant may receive under the program not to more than 3 awards in any previous 10-year period, prior to prioritizing awards to applicants who have not…