Senate advances $7.5M farm security fund to aid farmers after severe weather losses

The Vermont Senate advanced S.60 on March 19, a bill to establish a Farm Security Special Fund to provide grants to farmers who experience uninsured losses from eligible weather events.

Senator Major reported for the Committee on Agriculture that the legislation creates a state-administered fund within 6 V.S.A. chapter 207, defining eligible losses and farms, creating a review board and requiring the Agency of Agriculture to process applications within 15 days. The committee described recent-year losses ($44.7 million in 2023 and $13.5 million in 2024) and cited the Vermont Climate Assessment on increasing average annual precipitation.

Under the bill as reported, grants could reimburse up to 50% of uninsured losses with a cap of $150,000 per farm per year; eligible losses include lost wages, destroyed crops, replanting costs, feed and equipment repairs and road repairs. The fund proposal included a $7.5 million initial allocation in FY2026 in the committee report; the Appropriations Committee recommended changing the appropriation language to a transfer and removed the appropriation and an effective date in the AG report and set the act to take effect July 1, 2025.

Questions on the floor focused on why smaller or diversified farms lack adequate insurance and how often a single farm could access the fund; the reporter said the program targets smaller farms that either cannot afford or do not qualify for sufficient crop insurance and that awards could be made annually if losses recur. The Appropriations Committee voted 7-0 to advance its amended language; the Senate adopted committee language as amended and ordered third reading.

Committee witnesses included the Secretary of Agriculture, UVM Extension, Agency of Agriculture staff, disaster recovery officials and farm groups. Senators emphasized the bill's role as a targeted, rapid-response program to keep small and diversified farms operating following climate-driven events.