MONTPELIER – U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has approved Governor Phil Scott’s request for a Secretarial Disaster Designation for six Vermont counties in response to this July’s rain and flooding events. Caledonia, Essex, Orange, Chittenden, Lamoille and Washington counties were recognized as part of the declaration.
This secretarial disaster designation from USDA makes farm operators across Vermont eligible to be considered for Farm Service Agency (FSA) 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.
“The USDA reviewed the Loss Assessment Reports and determined that there were sufficient production losses to warrant a Secretarial natural disaster designation; therefore, I am designating all six Vermont counties as primary natural disaster areas,” Secretary Vilsack wrote to Governor Scott.
The USDA Disaster Declaration will also enable non-industrial forest property owners to apply for financial support to restore damaged properties through the USDA Farm Service Agency’s Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP). The program provides a 75% cost share to property owners to cover costs associated with restoring forest lands where the damage from the storm event would either harm the natural resources on the land or significantly affect future land use if left in a damaged state. EFRP projects can include debris removal to help establish a new stand or provide for natural regeneration and forestland road repair or erosion control structures. For more information, visit fpr.vermont.gov/forest-flood-resources .
