Small farmers hit by extreme weather could get assistance from proposed insurance program
FILE - Flood waters remain on the destroyed fields at the Intervale Community Farm, July 17, 2023, in Burlington, Vt. Legislation introduced in December 2023 by Vermont U.S. Sens. Peter Welch and Bernie Sanders, and senators from Massachusetts, aims to create an insurance program better suited to small produce farms facing losses from the more frequent extreme weather. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa, File)
MIDDLESEX, Vt. (AP) — Since catastrophic flooding hit Vermont in July and waterlogged crops, some farmers are trying to figure out how to get through the next season.
Water washed away seeds planted in the summer at Bear Roots Farm, which grows about 20 acres (8 hectares) of mostly root vegetables at a high altitude. Farmers and co-owners Jon Wagner and Karin Bellemare are now asking themselves whether they want to take out a loan to plant all those seeds again — especially since it's currently raining in January in Vermont.
They estimate the extreme rainfall caused them a 50% financial loss of about $180,000. The pair support legislation introduced last month by Vermont U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, as well as senators from Massachusetts. The bill aims to create an insurance program for small produce farms facing losses from increasingly extreme weather in the Northeast and other parts of the country.
Support Local News
You have read all of your free articles this month. Select a plan below to start your subscription today.
Already a subscriber? Login
Daily Inter Lake - everything
Print delivery, e-edition and unlimited website access
- $26.24 per month
Daily Inter Lake - unlimited website access
- $9.95 per month