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Members press for farm relief after drought; S.60 unfunded last session

Agriculture committee (state legislature) · January 7, 2026
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Summary

Lawmakers said the S.60 farm relief bill received no funding last session and urged the committee to prioritize drought and flood relief this year, citing concrete impacts on dairy, cattle and vegetable producers.

Committee members on Jan. 6 urged the panel to prioritize drought and flood relief after reports of significant losses and extra costs for water and feed.

A member described seeing drought damage in his district and said, "We could, in any way, shape, or form, get some money to do that" and asked the committee to consider token relief because prior proposals were cut from higher amounts down to zero during the previous session. The chair acknowledged the prior reduction of proposed funds and signaled the topic will be part of the committee's agenda.

Background: the chair said S.60, the farm relief bill, "never got funded last year" and noted localized flooding in the 'kingdom' region but said drought was the dominant weather issue. Members compared Vermont's small population and fiscal capacity (one member cited "640,000") with larger states when discussing available resources.

Next steps: members asked staff to pursue funding options and flagged drought/flood relief as likely issues in the committee's miscellaneous bill. No funding decisions were made at the Jan. 6 meeting.