U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Rural Development, Energy, and Credit, called on the Trump Administration to help drought-impacted Vermont farmers access urgently-needed disaster assistance. The Senator requested that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) issue a Secretarial Disaster Designation for the entire State of Vermont due to the mounting impacts of the pervasive and severe drought that has struck the state in recent weeks.
The disaster declaration would help farmers across the state access much-needed emergency programs and financial support. The letter comes after Vermont’s Agency of Agriculture asked USDA to approve a Secretarial Disaster Designation for every county in Vermont to help drought-impacted farmers access vital recovery resources. The letter was also signed by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and U.S. Representative Becca Balint (VT-At-Large).
“Vermont’s dairy farmers rely on high-quality, home-grown corn and hay silage to feed their cows and maintain production through the long winter. This year’s drought has dramatically reduced both the yield and quality of silage crops. Farmers typically harvest three to four high-quality cuts of hay each summer, but this year, many saw only one high-quality cut, with the second of low quality and the third cut non-existent. Hard-hit areas could see corn yield reductions of more than 40%. These losses will have lasting effects for dairy farmers: their grain bills will go up this winter while their milk production will be down long after this drought ends,” wrote the lawmakers. “Fruit, vegetable, grape, and grain growers are equally distressed. As visitors from across the globe flock to Vermont during foliage season, orchards across the state are producing the lowest fruit yields in memory. Some farmers have had to haul water onto their farms for more than 12 weeks.”