Vermont loggers urge lawmakers to fund training, resilience measures and revenue relief as wet weather slashes work

At a joint hearing of the Vermont House Committee on Agriculture, Food Resiliency, & Forestry and its Senate counterparts, logging contractors and trade‑group leaders testified that prolonged wet weather and summer flooding sharply reduced their harvest days and revenue and urged lawmakers to approve targeted assistance and investments.

“For the record, my name is Sam Lincoln,” said Sam Lincoln, a master logger from Randolph Center, describing his business’s experience. He testified that wet conditions and the July flood forced shutdowns and greatly reduced production: "From the period between June 1 and 10/01/2023, I worked 23 days," and he said timber‑harvesting days have fallen from a historical 160–180 days to 104 in 2023, with an overall timber‑harvesting revenue decline he estimated at 22% for fiscal year 2023. Lincoln told lawmakers that those revenue losses — not physical damage to equipment or structures — have left many firms ineligible for existing relief programs and asked that revenue losses be made eligible for any additional relief funds.

Why it matters: logging is a seasonal, cash‑based business; when heavy rain or unfrozen ground…