Federal delegation outlines Farm Bill priorities, disaster aid and labor fixes for Vermont farmers

Haley Perro, outreach director for U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders, told a Vermont committee that Congress must update the Farm Bill to better serve small and diversified farms and to ensure conservation, research and rural development programs do not lapse.

"Senator Sanders believes the Farm Bill should strengthen sustainable and organic agricultural practices, conserve our natural resources, prevent food insecurity, support our rural communities, and address the existential threat of climate change," Perro said.

Perro said the most recent Farm Bill was enacted in 2018 and expired on Sept. 30, 2023, and that Congress has extended it twice since. She warned those extensions can cause immediate problems for farmers, including hitting per-farm payment limits under conservation programs such as the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) and the Conservation Stewardship Program (CSP), which can result in real income losses for producers.

The extension also leaves so-called "orphan" programs — research, conservation, energy and rural economic development efforts without baseline mandatory funding — vulnerable, Perro said. "Those programs are often called orphan programs and they are a concern for many farmers and producers whenever there's a Farm Bill extension," she said.

Ryan McLaren, senior adviser to U.S. Senator Peter Welch, said Welch’s priorities include dairy supports, organic program integrity, farm-to-school and local-food investments, hunger programs and climate-related conservation work through the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

"In dairy, we focus a lot on protecting the Dairy Business Innovation Center program," McLaren said. He said the office had pushed for modest improvements to the federal Dairy Margin Coverage program and is a lead sponsor of the Whole Milk Healthy Kids Act, which would allow whole milk in school lunch programs.

McLaren said the delegation also is focused on protecting organic standards from practices some view as diluting the National Organic Program and on improving access to rural development programs. "A lot of those programs...are not really all that accessible to communities at the scale of Vermont," he said.

On labor, committee members and staff discussed options to stabilize the agricultural workforce. McLaren described two paths being considered: a new ag-worker visa or adjustments to the H-2A seasonal-worker program to better accommodate dairy and year-round needs. "We used to call it a blue card, so like an ag worker visa...that would give people that are here now the ability to get in a system," he said.

Thomas Runner, a staff member for a U.S. House office, said the House Agriculture Committee had not yet held hearings this year and that the committee chair planned to avoid SNAP cuts. "He doesn't want to cut any money from SNAP," Runner said, noting the chair's public statements.

Appropriations and disaster aid also drew attention. Perro said Congress was operating under a continuing resolution that she said expires March 14 and that running on CRs can pause grants and complicate agency spending plans. She said a continuing resolution through May 14 included about $100 billion in disaster relief, with roughly $21 billion earmarked for agricultural disaster relief, and that the small-state disaster block grant would be particularly helpful to Vermont producers. "The state's application is in with USDA," she said.

Staffers warned of proposals that could shape negotiations: Republican proposals to cut SNAP by roughly $275 billion and uncertainty about whether Inflation Reduction Act conservation funds would be redirected. McLaren and Perro also flagged proposed tariffs and trade policies that could affect input and equipment costs.

Delegation staff described insurance and market protections in development for small and diversified farms. McLaren highlighted a proposed WeatherX index insurance concept intended to provide an insurance product that fits small diversified operations better than traditional crop insurance: "It would basically create an index insurance program...it would be a way of ensuring losses that actually functions for people that aren't in large scale commodities."

On milk pricing, members present urged federal officials to leave the Federal Milk Marketing Order intact after recent changes that staff said could raise the 100-weight price. "We are strongly...encourag[ing] the Federal Milk Marketing Order to stay in place the way it is right now," one member said.

Staffers encouraged local officials and organizations to engage on congressionally directed spending and competitive grant programs, noting Vermont had many applicants for small grants and that limited funding left many unmet needs. McLaren said offices have used appropriations creatively to support institutions that deliver technical assistance where direct program accounts were unavailable.

The briefing closed with staffers and members describing continued uncertainty in Washington and an open invitation for local leaders to stay in contact about priorities and grant requests.