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Delaware agriculture orientation highlights insurance aid, markets and calls for more farmland preservation funding
Summary
Department of Agriculture reviewed FY26–27 staffing and spending authority, touted a $2M production insurance assistance program and record farmers‑market sales, and received public comment urging sizable increases to farmland‑preservation funding (requests ranged from $10M to $20M).
Secretary Don Clifton and Department of Agriculture staff presented an overview of the department’s FY26–27 budget, programs and priorities to the Joint Finance Committee on Feb. 18.
Clifton said agriculture remains Delaware’s top industry and described key state investments: a $2 million production insurance assistance program that attracted 420 participating farms, support for forest resiliency and the Ag Lands Preservation program (Round 29 produced 36 new easements covering about 2,883 acres at a state cost of roughly $14.9 million). Program highlights also included farmers markets setting sales records and the department’s work on nutrient management, weights and measures, and poultry industry support.
Officials flagged several discretionary 1% requests that were not recommended in the governor’s package, including funding for electric‑vehicle charging inspections ($16,800) and an agricultural education item ($110,500). The department described a technical $64,000 adjustment to the governor’s office for the recreated Delaware Council on Farm and Food Policy (executive order No. 5).
Forest and invasive‑pest concerns drew sustained questions. State Forester Kyle Hoyt described a multi‑plot monitoring effort to study widespread oak decline and said Delaware is establishing grow‑out capacity for locally sourced nursery stock using BIL funds. Hoyt also summarized ash‑borer and spotted‑lanternfly strategies, including grants and community guidance to landowners.
Public commenters pressed the committee to raise farmland‑preservation funding. In‑person speakers from the League of Women Voters, Delaware Nature Society, Delaware Farm Bureau and The Nature Conservancy urged increased allocations to the open‑space and farmland preservation lines; proposals ranged from a $10 million annual target to requests near $20 million tied to rising land values and development pressure.
What’s next: Committee members asked for follow‑up on the production insurance program’s mechanics, park fee impacts where relevant, and vacancy/compensation pressures across DDA. The department said it will provide requested figures and continue follow‑up with members.
