10/1 Drought Resources & Resiliency

As of September 23rd, according to the US Drought Monitor, Vermont is experiencing moderate to extreme drought - and some regions have again experienced devastating flooding events over the summer.  From orchards, to hay fields and pastures, to silage plantings and wells going dry - farmers and producers are experiencing significant immediate impacts, and there will be impacts that will continue and need to be assessed and addressed over time.  

There are a number of resources, as well as information about reporting agricultural losses and impacts of drought, that are available and listed on this webpage from the Agency of Natural Resources.  This includes a link for reporting at the National Drought Mitigation Center and contacts at the VT Agency of Agriculture to report losses to, a list of water haulers for those experiencing critical water supply shortage, links to the Feed Finder Marketplace and Feed Finder Program, support for applying for financial assistance in the event the USDA issues a Disaster Declaration, and more.  We also would like to direct folks experiencing agricultural losses to the NOFA Farmer Emergency Fund - which is very flexible and does not rely on any official disaster status.

Additionally, there has not been a federal disaster declaration at this point, but you do automatically qualify for the ELAP program if you are in a D3 zone or have been in a D2 zone for 8 consecutive weeks. However, based on our conversations with our federal delegation, federal disaster-related programs will not be accessible during the government shutdown, as staff will not be present to process applications. This is the case for much of the federal USDA funding and processes, based on our understanding, including processing reimbursement requests for contracts. 

How do we support farmers in this era of extreme weather?

FARM SECURITY SPECIAL FUND

At this time, and during an era of extreme weather exacerbating the challenges of farming and other working lands livelihoods, there are relatively few financial resources available supporting farmers who experience significant losses in extreme weather events which are accessible or substantial.  Rural VT and a large coalition of agricultural organizations are working to pass the Farm Security Special Fund (S.60) - a bill which would create a state-based, accessible, flexible, and efficient Fund to support farmers and foresters in response to extreme weather events.  The bill is currently stranded in the House Appropriations Committee, and it is critical that we pass it this coming legislative session to provide folks doing this already vulnerable work with some means of additional security in the face of climactic adversity they have little to no control over.  

Reach out to your representatives asking them to do what they can to get this bill through the VT Statehouse this session - farmers and working lands people are on the frontlines of climate change, and need support to keep doing the essential work they do.  Please also reach out to us here at Rural VT if you have questions about the bill, want to talk about what you’re experiencing in the drought, or otherwise.