Farmers tell committee $20 million fund needed after severe floods, insurance gaps

Farmers and advocates asked a legislative committee to create a $20 million Farm Security Special Fund to help producers recover from extreme-weather losses and speed assistance after disasters.

At a public hearing, Maddie Ketzner, policy director at NOFA Vermont, and multiple growers described crop and infrastructure losses from recent floods and unseasonal frosts, and pressed for a permanent, state‑administered disaster fund that could pay a portion of producers' documented losses quickly.

The request centers on a one‑time $20 million appropriation for fiscal year 2026, with bill language proposing an annual appropriation thereafter tied to a three‑year average of agricultural losses. "The idea behind the $20,000,000 is to cover to our best estimate, right? Up to 50% of producers losses," Ketzner said, explaining the fund's intended scope and limits.

Farmers who testified gave detailed accounts of damage and the limits of current tools. Bill Chintze described flood damage that “put an end to what I was the equity I was building on that property,” and said the state BGAP application process in 2023 and 2024 was “extremely taxing” and retraumatizing. Justin Rich, owner…