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Read. Follow. Verify.Vermont Establishes Farm and Forestry Operations Security Special Fund for Weather-Related Losses
Last action · February 18, 2025: Read first time and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Food Resiliency, and ForestrySponsors: Mollie Burke and 6 others
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What This Bill Would Do
Vermont establishes the Farm and Forestry Operations Security Special Fund to provide financial grants covering up to 50 percent of uninsured losses, up to $150,000 annually, for farms and forestry operations impacted by eligible extreme weather conditions starting July 1, 2025.
Vermont agricultural and forestry businesses sustaining weather-related income or property losses gain access to state-backed grant funding, with award amounts scaled against median state farm net income.
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Vermont farmers
Eligible to apply for and receive grant awards from the Fund to cover uninsured losses from extreme weather conditions.
Forestry operators
Eligible to apply for and receive grant awards from the Fund for weather-related losses and logging road repairs.
Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets
The Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets is tasked with administering the Fund, providing translation services, and issuing awards based on Review Board recommendations.
Key Facts
- The bill establishes the Farm and Forestry Operations Security Special Fund to provide grants for losses caused by eligible weather conditions.
- Grants reimburse farms or forestry operations for up to 50 percent of uninsured or uncovered losses, up to a maximum award of $150,000 total per year per applicant.
- Eligible weather conditions include high winds, excessive moisture, intense precipitation, flooding, extreme heat, abnormal freeze conditions, widespread fire, hail, drought, or other severe weather determined by the Review Board.
- The Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets shall administer the Fund and ensure language accessibility through interpretation and translation services.
Show all 10 facts
- Reimbursable losses include wages, replacement of lost income from destroyed crops, livestock, or timber, debt payments, replanting costs, feed replacement, infrastructure repair, and road repair.
- Applications are processed in the order received once administratively complete, and can be submitted at any time until appropriated funds are exhausted.
- The Review Board must evaluate complete applications and recommend whether to issue a grant by majority vote within one week of receipt.
- The Secretary must issue an approved award within two weeks of the Review Board's recommendation.
- The Review Board is composed of the Secretary of Agriculture, Food and Markets or designee, the State Chief Recovery Officer or designee, three representatives of relief-granting organizations, two farmers, and two forestry operators.
- The act takes effect on July 1, 2025.
Frequently Asked Questions
What expenses are covered by the grants?
What is the maximum grant amount an applicant can receive?
Who evaluates the grant applications?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
1 action- Feb 18, 2025HouseIntroducedRead first time and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Food Resiliency, and Forestry
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Creation of Permanent Weather Relief Fund
Shifts state support from ad-hoc disaster relief to a permanent, dedicated special fund for farms and forestry operations impacted by extreme weather.
Connected Entities
Sources
legislature.vermont.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy15Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
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