USDA secretary approves disaster declaration for 6 Vermont counties

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has approved Gov. Phil Scott’s request for a Secretarial Disaster Designation for six Vermont counties that were impacted by flooding this July, the governor’s office announced Thursday.

The designation from the U.S. Department of Agriculture allows farmers in Caledonia, Essex, Orange, Chittenden, Lamoille and Washington counties to apply for emergency loans from the USDA’s Farm Service Agency, according to a Thursday press release from the governor’s office.

Due to their proximity to those counties granted the primary disaster designation, farmers in five other Vermont counties — Addison, Franklin, Grand Isle, Windsor and Orleans — are also eligible for the loans, according to the release, as are farmers in New York’s Clinton and Essex counties and New Hampshire’s Coos and Grafton counties.

Farmers impacted by the flooding in those areas will have eight months to apply for the loans.

The declaration also enables non-industrial forest property owners in eligible counties to apply for financial support through the Farm Service Agency’s Forest Restoration program, which provides financial assistance for property owners for the restoration of forest lands damaged by natural disaster.

“Alongside many of their neighbors, our farmers have been greatly impacted by the floods this summer, threatening their livelihoods and our food system,” Scott said in the release. “I’m grateful to Secretary Vilsack for this disaster declaration, on the heels of the 2023 declaration , which will help farmers recover and provide some additional support through the many challenges they’ve faced.”

Eligible Vermont farmers who are interested in USDA’s emergency loans are encouraged to contact their local USDA service center or to visit www.farmers.gov/recover .

Those interested in the Farm Service Agency’s Forest Restoration program are encouraged to visit www.fpr.vermont.gov/forest-flood-resources .

Read the story on VTDigger here: USDA secretary approves disaster declaration for 6 Vermont counties .