The Agency of Agriculture presented preliminary survey findings Wednesday showing drought stress across Vermont farms and a demand for financial help from affected operations.

"We got about 200 responses," said Abby Willard, agency staff, adding the survey closed Dec. 15 and covered businesses from every county. Willard reported respondents indicated about 79,000 acres were impacted by drought, and the collective estimated losses reported by respondents totaled roughly $15.9 million.

Willard said small farms made up about 78% of respondents, though larger operations reported larger financial impacts. "A majority of respondents said they need financial assistance," she said, noting 74 respondents described their financial health as moderately vulnerable and eight businesses indicated closing their operations had been considered.

Survey details the agency highlighted include crop- and feed-related losses across dairy, produce, forage and maple operations; respondents reported hauling water, drilling wells, and paying more for supplemental feed. Willard said 135 respondents reported they did not have crop insurance, and 22% said they had enrolled in crop insurance in the last three years. The agency cautioned the data are preliminary and that some large claims may be outliers that require review before the final report.

Committee members asked about comparisons with previous flood losses. Agency staff said drought losses reported in the survey are lower than combined flood losses from 2023–24 but emphasized the survey’s scope and data-cleaning needs before drawing firm conclusions. Agency staff said it will publish Power BI visuals and a finalized report in the coming weeks and will share the data with technical service providers when respondents consent.

Legislators signaled interest in linking the results to funding discussions. The chair noted work on S.60, described in the session as a farmers’ bill the committee expects to advance; staff said S.60 currently contains no dedicated funding but the new data could inform requests for relief funds.

The agency urged caution in interpreting the preliminary numbers and said it will complete data cleaning and review outliers before publicly posting the final dashboard and report.