Vermont to receive share of $220 million federal disaster block grant; state readies outreach and eligibility process

Secretary Anson Tebbetts, head of the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets, told the House Agriculture committee that late-December federal legislation secured $220,000,000 in disaster block grant funding for eligible states to address agriculture and forestry losses from severe weather in 2023–24.

Tebbetts said the block grant covers New England states plus Hawaii and Alaska and that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will determine each state’s allotment after the agency submits consolidated loss data. “We will submit that to the United States Department of Agriculture. They’ll come back to us and say this is your dollar figure, State of Vermont,” Tebbetts said.

Why it matters: Committee members were briefed on how the state will move quickly to distribute money to farmers and foresters who reported losses in 2023 and 2024. Officials said prior data collection under the state Business Emergency Gap Assistance Program (BGAP) and ongoing surveys will form the basis of Vermont’s request to USDA.

Tebbetts summarized statewide loss estimates reported in committee: he said post‑2023 data collection showed losses “growing upwards of $69,000,000 across agriculture and forestry” and “another $2,800,000 in damages in the forestry economy alone.” Chief Operating Officer Nicole Dubuque, who chairs the state’s agriculture recovery task, described BGAP and the state’s outreach: “We received about a 100 applications,” Dubuque said, adding that the 2024 applications reported roughly $13,500,000 in physical damages and that estimated awards paid from the state program were about $2,700,000 because BGAP covered about 30% of reported physical losses.

Dubuque said BGAP only counted physical damages for eligibility decisions and that economic injury reported by applicants was considered but not eligible for BGAP payouts. She told the committee the state has conducted weekly drop‑in sessions with federal and local partners to coordinate outreach and avoid duplicate surveys.

Committee members asked how farmers will be notified and whether earlier small awards mean farmers will be recontacted. Dubuque said the agency will conduct “significant outreach” through industry associations, social media and a press release once Vermont’s USDA allotment and eligibility requirements are confirmed.

On whether the new presidential administration could affect the money, Tebbetts said USDA officials told the agency the funds are committed under the prior federal legislative package and “there’s little or no chance that they could be swept” for other uses.

Next steps: Agency staff said they must submit consolidated loss totals to USDA by the states’ deadline, then await Vermont’s specific allotment and eligibility guidance before launching the state application and distribution process.

Ending: Committee members asked for notification plans for constituents; the agency said it will coordinate with legislators, commodity groups and regional partners to reach producers when the program opens.