The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) notified Connecticut on Aug. 16 that the state will receive approximately $53 million from the $220 million in disaster assistance for small and medium-sized farmers through the Farm Recovery and Support Block Grant Program.
This allocation is four times larger than the amount Connecticut received under the last supplemental disaster program, which provided just $13 million to farmers, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-New Haven) announced.
Today, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, announced that DeLauro created and secured funding for this grant program in the government funding and disaster assistance package signed into law last December.
“This is a game-changer for Connecticut’s small and medium-sized farmers,” said DeLauro, who is the ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee. “When unexpected disasters strike — from floods to devastating hailstorms — our farmers should not be left with pennies on the dollar. I designed this historic block grant program to remove barriers for New England farmers like crop insurance requirements because our federal farm safety net fails so many of our specialty crop producers, and to give Connecticut the flexibility to decide when and where relief is needed.
On Aug. 26, 2024, a severe 13-minute hailstorm damaged several farms in Connecticut. One of them was William Dellacamera’s farm, Cecarelli’s Harrison Hill Farm in Northford. Although Dellacamera had insurance coverage, he was only able to recoup a little less than half of his over $400,000 loss.
Many specialty crop farms have a hard time receiving crop insurance because of the lack of availability of coverage for diverse and specialty crops. Other insurance-like disaster assistance programs provide very little money, DeLauro said.
Connecticut is awaiting approval from USDA on the program design submitted by state Department of Agriculture and the execution of a contract to formalize the agreement and begin implementation. The state agency anticipates the scope of work and agreement will be finalized in September. Following that they aim to open an application period in fall 2025.
For any farmers interested in applying for the grants, contact DeLauro’s office at (203) 562-3718.
