Delegation staff warn delayed USDA disbursements are squeezing Vermont farmers
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Summary
Staff for U.S. senators told the Agriculture, Food Resiliency & Forestry committee that USDA has not yet distributed 2025 organic cost‑share reimbursements and that $220 million in small‑state flood‑recovery block grants from the 2024 appropriations remain unreleased to states, prompting ongoing congressional and state follow‑up.
Katie Van Heist, state director for Sen. Bernie Sanders, told the committee that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had not yet released two federal aid streams critical to Vermont producers: the 2025 organic cost‑share reimbursements and a $220,000,000 small‑state block grant for flood recovery. "USDA has still failed to send out the 2025 cost share reimbursement for organic farmers in Vermont," Van Heist said, stressing the timing matters as producers plan spring planting.
The nut of the problem, Van Heist said, is agency execution rather than missing congressional language. She told the committee the 2024 appropriations included a small‑state pot of $220 million intended for flood recovery, and Vermont met the threshold for distribution; implementation delays, not statutory gaps, are blocking release. "We are asking if they need anything from us that hasn't been provided," she said, adding delegation staff are coordinating with New England congressional offices and Vermont officials to press USDA for action.
Miles McDermott, outreach representative for Sen. Peter Welch, said offices can perform casework and pursue targeted inquiries for specific towns or farmers. He described the $220 million as appropriated by Congress but then subject to additional USDA application and program requirements that have slowed distribution. McDermott said the delegation is pushing to keep the funds "clean" so states can use them for varied local recovery needs rather than a narrowly defined list of expenses.
Committee members pressed for concrete next steps. Van Heist recommended collecting constituent case examples and documentation so the delegation can raise individual files with USDA or FEMA as appropriate. On organic cost‑share reimbursements, staff said the delay was "more than normal" for an annual reimbursement program; the National Organic Farmers Association (NOFA) Vermont has flagged the problem.
The delegation also noted staffing reductions at some federal agencies and frequent turnover of agency points of contact as drivers of delay for reimbursements and grant processing. They offered to follow up with FEMA and USDA on specific municipal or farm applications and report back to the committee.
The committee asked for regular updates and for staff to gather and forward constituent documentation to the appropriate federal contacts. The briefing closed with an agreement that members should send constituent stories and specific reimbursement cases to delegation staff to accelerate casework inquiries.
