Vermont farmers, experts urge rapid payouts as committee advances Farm Security Fund proposal

Montpelier, Vt. — Lawmakers heard detailed testimony on a proposed Farm Security Special Fund on Thursday as farmers and agricultural experts pressed the Senate Agriculture Committee to approve a permanent state mechanism that can deliver fast disaster aid.

The panel heard that the governor included $2,000,000 in his proposed budget to seed a recovery fund, but witnesses and the agency said structures, verification and state payment processing could slow distribution. "I see in this bill it's a 10-day turnaround ... I think 10 days would be a pretty aggressive," said the Secretary of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, who briefed the committee on prior recovery efforts and the state role in administering grants.

The hearing assembled technical service providers, farm operators and risk-management specialists to outline how climate-driven floods, freezes and droughts have hit diverse Vermont farms and to explain why many farmers cannot rely on federal programs. "This bill is really about food security," said Sam Smith, farm business director at the Intervale Center, describing the need to keep payrolls and operations running after catastrophic weather.

Key details and testimony

Witnesses described local examples they said show why a state fund is needed and why speed matters. Sam Smith said the Intervale Center manages roughly 350 acres—about 100 acres in production and roughly 50 acres in intensive vegetable production—and that Intervale farms generate about $2.5 million a year in direct sales to the local community. Smith told senators rapid…