Senators hear S.60 to create Farm Security Special Fund for faster disaster aid to Vermont farms

Senator Ruth Hardy, sponsor and a member from the Addison District, told the Senate Agriculture Committee on Feb. 18 that S.60 would establish a Farm Security Special Fund and a farm security grant program in the Vermont Agency of Agriculture to provide rapid, targeted recovery aid to farms after extreme weather.

The measure would create a grant program administered by the Agency of Agriculture, a Farm Security Special Fund Review Board with farmer members and ex officio seats for the secretary of agriculture and the state’s chief recovery officer, and a definition of qualifying weather events including high winds, excessive moisture or flooding, extreme heat, abnormal freezing, wildfire, hail and drought. "These extreme weather events have become more frequent in the last decade in Vermont," Hardy said, describing recent spring freezes that wiped out orchard crops and successive flood seasons that damaged fields and farm infrastructure.

Why it matters: committee members and the sponsor said many Vermont farms are too small to use federal crop insurance or other federal disaster programs, and they argued the state fund would get money to farmers faster than federal relief. Hardy said the bill was drafted with input from a coalition of farm organizations and several individual farmers and that it is modeled in part on the speed and application simplicity of prior statewide business-recovery programs, but tailored to agricultural losses.

Key provisions and questions raised

- Program and board: The bill establishes a special fund and a review board chaired by the secretary of agriculture and including the chief recovery officer and several farmer representatives. Board members who are not serving ex officio would be eligible for modest stipends and mileage reimbursement, the sponsor said.

- Qualifying events and measurement: The text names a federal weather data source (NOAA) as an outside indicator to help determine whether an event qualifies. Committee members asked about the relationship between NOAA and FEMA and whether the National Weather Service might be more appropriate; Hardy said that choice was included to provide an objective indicator but invited technical input from recovery experts and agency staff.

- Award authority: The bill gives the secretary discretion to adjust awards based on information from the review board. Hardy said that approach was intended to allow the secretary to ensure funds are used appropriately while preserving farmer participation in decisions.

- Funding and formula: The draft contains no initial appropriation. It does include a formula for estimating necessary funding based on recorded losses and a three-year average; a figure of about $20,000,000 was cited in discussion as an estimated scale of recent flood damage, which Hardy attributed to agency data from prior business recovery assistance efforts. "I think that that number is based on an estimate of some of the damage from the last two years of flooding," Hardy said. She also said some federal funds may cover early program years but that long-term needs depend on future weather losses.

- Target population: Hardy said the program is intended primarily to help small and medium farms that often lack access to federal programs or the capacity to apply for them, though the bill’s language does not categorically exclude larger farms.

Witnesses and outreach discussed

Hardy said Michael Gradian would walk the committee through bill language in later hearings and that the committee will also hear from the agency secretary and a chief flood recovery official. She named Jackie Folsom of the Farm Bureau, Amy Schallenberger of a farm coalition, and individual farmers — including a vegetable grower from Burnt Rock Farm — as likely witnesses. Hardy also suggested the Vermont Community Foundation as a possible witness because it had provided quick funding to farmers after recent events.

Committee process and next steps

Hardy told the committee she expected a House companion bill to be introduced soon and asked the committee to solicit testimony from agency staff and affected farmers. The committee scheduled the Agency of Agriculture secretary to testify on Thursday and planned further review; no appropriation has been proposed in the governor’s recommended budget, Hardy said.

Ending

Committee members indicated interest in shaping the relationship between the review board and the secretary, clarifying which federal or federal-adjacent weather indicators should be referenced, and ensuring the application process is farmer-friendly and fast. The measure remains under consideration and will proceed through the committee's scheduled hearings and staff briefings.