Massachusetts agriculture officials are asking farmers to complete a survey this week on weather-related damage sustained over the last two years. That's in order to tap newly available federal assistance.
A spending bill passed by Congress late last year provides $220 million to eight states including all of New England. And the survey will help to determine just how much Massachusetts will see.
Winton Pitcoff is the deputy commissioner with the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources. He said the money will cover more than just crop losses sustained by farmers.
"If there's been any infrastructure loss, like the floods really exasperated any leaking or actually damaged any buildings, if roads washed away, all those kinds of things would be eligible," Pitcoff said.
He said other expenses would also be covered, giving the example of a dairy farmer who lost the ability to grow hay for their cattle and had to purchase it. Pitcoff said that too could be covered under the federal funding.
Any financial awards will also cover the difference between state grants and insurance payments and the actual cost of damage.
Once the estimates are in, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will develop a formula for how to distribute grants to states. It will then be up to state agriculture officials to develop a program allowing Massachusetts farmers to apply for funding.
It is anticipated that demand will exceed how much money will actually end up being available and not all requests will be honored.
In 2023 and 2024, severe flooding, an ill-timed frost and a drought impacted growers causing significant loss of crops and contaminated soil, leaving some fields unusable due to mold from the floods.
