Warren, Markey Urge Senate Leaders to Support Disaster Assistance For Massachusetts Farmers Following Extreme Weather Events in End-of-Year Appropriations Package
“We request federal and state agencies work closely to assess total damages and that at least $55 million be appropriated for damage already done for Massachusetts farmers.”
Washington, D.C. - United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Edward Markey (D-Mass.) sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senator Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray, and Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair Susan Collins urging them to support disaster assistance to compensate Massachusetts farmers for crop losses from recent extreme weather events in any end-of-year appropriations package Congress considers.
“(W)e request your support for disaster funding for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to compensate farmers for crop losses caused by tornadoes, floods, freezes, and frosts. We urge that at least $55 million for Massachusetts farmers be included in the amount appropriated to USDA for disaster relief. While this funding is not part of the Continuing Resolution package, it must be part of an end-of-year appropriations package,” said Senators Warren and Markey.
2023 has already proven to be an exceptionally challenging year for Massachusetts farmers. All together, this year’s extreme weather events ruined nearly 3,000 acres of crops in the state, and initial estimates by USDA’s Farm Service Agency reflect that farmers collectively lost roughly $49 million in crops. Many lost virtually all of their crops for the year, gutting their financial security. For example, some refugee farmers in the state work with a program that supports them to sell their crops in order to earn an income, but they have been unable to sell produce this year. Farmers continue to accrue additional losses; some have not yet been able to repair farmland and others have seen floods introduce bacterial infections into their farms, preventing replanting.
Recognizing the severe damage to Massachusetts farms, USDA designated seven Massachusetts counties as natural disaster areas in July 2023. This designation unlocked low-interest loans for farmers, and access to the Emergency Conservation Program (ECP), a cost-share program that covers 75 to 90 percent of the cost of repairing damaged farmland.
“However, USDA loans and cost-share assistance are insufficient to meet the current needs of Massachusetts farms — which are predominantly family-owned and 95 percent of which qualify as small farms. Many Massachusetts farmers already took on debt in order to plant this year’s crops — for which they earned little to no revenue — and cannot afford to repay additional loans, even at a low interest rate. Additionally, many cannot afford to pay even their minority share of the ECP cost-share program, and those that can are only able to use ECP funds for farmland restoration, not for crop loss compensation. Meanwhile, most of the state’s farmers lack crop insurance, leaving them without access to compensation for these weather-related losses,” wrote the Senators.
In the letter, the Massachusetts Senators are requesting that Congress appropriate funding to USDA that can be distributed to Massachusetts farmers in the form of direct grants, to compensate for the loss of revenue and quality or production losses of crops, due to flooding, freeze, tornadoes, and frost. Once appropriated, the funds can be distributed by USDA via the Emergency Relief Program (ERP), which was created in past years to offer crop-loss grants to farmers.
On August 9, 2023, Senator Warren, Ed Markey, Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) sent a letter to President Joe Biden, thanking his administration for its support for New England communities that suffered catastrophic flooding in July 2023, and requesting that President Biden continue to address the ongoing needs of these communities in any upcoming disaster supplemental appropriations request to Congress. On July 21, 2023, Senators Warren and Markey, and Representatives Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) and Richard Neal (D-Mass.) sent a letter to USDA Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack and Farm Service Agency Administrator Zach Ducheneaux regarding the recent storms and floods in Massachusetts and urging the agency to act quickly to provide emergency assistance to support local recovery efforts in Massachusetts communities.
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