Vermont lawmakers considering COVID-19 relief for family farms

Lawmakers are considering ways to help small Vermont farmers hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, and plan to use big bucks to do it. 

Over $35 million may be allocated to relief programs for small farmers under a relief package under consideration by state lawmakers. During a hearing of the House Agriculture and Forestry Committee, advocates told of lost revenue, and the risk to the environment when small farms shutter and vast tracts of land go up for sale 

With the legislative session ending on Sept. 25, the revised S.351 bill, which gives more time and opportunity for funds to farmers, will give a chance to every farmer in Vermont, not just dairy farmers who were targeted in a previous version of the bill. 

“I lost two of my major income sources, which was the middle of May, Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival and the New York Sheep and Wool Festival, which would happen in October.” said Carolyn Partridge, a state representative and chair of the Agriculture and Forestry Committee, states as she reflects on her personal experience with COVID-19.

Through these times of economic hardship, many have found a linkage between what it will mean for the environment if these small diversified farms cannot survive.

 “If these small farms are not able to survive a pandemic and continue to operate, then their land is at risk for development,” said Andrea Stander, a policy consultant of Rural Vermont. 

“Economic survival and environmental survival, I think, is an old and old debate that we can't have one without the other,” said Stander. “If we don't sustain that in this extremely difficult time and support those farms, not only will all that work go for naught, but the future will look very bleak in terms of our ability to feed ourselves and our ability to sustain the landscape.”

But this isn’t just an issue for non-dairy small farms. Sam Smith, Farm Business Specialist at the Intervale in Burlington, touches on the not so recent decline the dairy industry has been facing. 

“The sector wide decline of conventional dairy market is probably going to have a higher impact on the level of land availability and potential. Concerns around development come in.”

If a high number of farms, whether dairy or not, close we will see some of the cleanest and well managed lands go to waste and possibly raise our carbon footprint. 

“So I think it kind of gets to the general question of if we can collectively find ways to help farmers either recover from this pandemic as quickly as possible or find a pivoting opportunity for them to meet a new market or a new consumer preference that better aligns with their business model, the more viable and sustainable their farming businesses, the better their stewardship and land management practices will be. And I believe we will continue to see an improvement in water quality and soil health as a result.” Abbey Willard, Director of Agriculture Development and Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets, states. 

“Farmers feed us, you know, and I think for the very most part, they are doing their very best to improve water quality. They live here, too, you know. They want to do the right thing. And I know there a handful, not even a handful of farms that have struggled to improve things. I think for the most part, farmers are doing what they can to improve the environment.” Representative Carolyn Patridge said.

It is hard to say what is next for Vermont’s farms, but also what that means for the environment.

“We're very fortunate to live in a state where we have a fair amount of that land. If we can keep that land suitable for that practice in active functioning agriculture, our communities and our resources. Renewable resources and nonrenewable natural resources will be in much better place than if there were any other land use upon that ground,” Willard said.