Eagle Times Staff
BERLIN, VT — U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has approved Gov. Phil Scott’s request for a Secretarial Disaster Designation in response to July’s flooding, which impacted thousands of acres of Vermont farmland. This comes on the heels of a widespread frost event in May, and is the second disaster declaration, emphasizing the difficult growing season that Vermont’s farmers have faced this year.
“I am designating all 14 Vermont counties as primary natural disaster areas,” Secretary Vilsack wrote to Gov. Scott.
“Alongside many of their neighbors, our farmers have been greatly impacted by the floods this summer, threatening their livelihoods and our food system,” said Gov. Scott. “I’m grateful to Secretary Vilsack for this second disaster declaration, which will help farmers recover and find a path forward through the many challenges they’ve faced this year.”
This Secretarial disaster designation from USDA makes farm operators across Vermont eligible to be considered for Farm Service Agency emergency loans, provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of a Secretarial disaster declaration to apply for emergency loans.
Information about USDA’s disaster assistance programs is available at farmers.gov/recover.
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