EASTHAMPTON — A collection of torrential rains over the previous two weeks brought on roughly $15 million in damages to about 2,000 acres of farmland in Massachusetts, which the Healey administration hopes to assist save with a personal aid fund introduced Thursday afternoon.
Farmers which have encountered a number of environmental setbacks this yr, are actually going through brunt of floods that left crops soaked proper earlier than harvest time. Gov. Maura Healey stated she is “not holding” her breath for federal {dollars} and the newly created “Massachusetts Farm Resiliency Fund” is one of the best ways to supply direct aid.
“If people think that there’s going to be a whole bunch of money coming from the federal government this way, I’m not holding my breath, none of us are and I want to be really clear about that,” Healey stated.
Even because the governor cautioned in opposition to ready for federal {dollars}, the state’s Congressional delegation pressured U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack and Farm Service Agency Administrator Zach Ducheneaux to declare a catastrophe in Western Massachusetts counties, a transfer that will open up an emergency mortgage program for farmers.
At Mountain View Farm in Easthampton, Healey and Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll stated philanthropic organizations and personal donors have dedicated $100,000 to the newly-created personal fund. Attorney General Andrea Campbell stated her workplace would additionally chip in $10,000 from settlements reached by the state’s high prosecutor.
Healey stated extreme climate in Massachusetts, throughout the nation, and world wide is “not surprising” given the results of local weather change. But storms have “real consequences” for farmers within the state, she stated.
“The flooding resulted in tremendous devastation, devastation to farms, devastation to the crops, devastation to personnel and employees and payroll, devastation to infrastructure,” Healey stated. “Coming at a time on the cusp of harvest for many, it really wipes out the ability to have a second season and really presents … real questions about what’s going to happen even next year given potential impact on the fields.”
The personal fund will probably be administered by United Way of Central Massachusetts, which has arrange an internet donation hyperlink for folks to contribute. United Way of Central Massachusetts CEO Tim Garvin stated he needed to make it “as simple as possible” to assist farmers.
“What’s happened today for our farmers affects all of us. I think of four groups. It’s our farmers, their families, their employees, their livelihood. It’s the crops that we eat,” he stated.
Lawmakers in Washington need the federal authorities to assist out on high of native efforts.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey and U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern penned a letter Thursday to Vilsack and Ducheneaux that stated farmers throughout Western Massachusetts “have expressed that they urgently need financial assistance and guidance for how to access available resources to aid in the recovery process.”
The federal legislators stated a catastrophe designation in western counties would permit farmers to “quickly access funds.”
“In order to rapidly assist farmers and communities in need, we ask that you expeditiously process and approve the request and engage in public outreach,” the letter stated.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Agriculture stated the workplace is working with state officers and agricultural suppliers “to assess damage in Massachusetts and will continue conversations with the state, producers and stakeholder groups to help address recovery needs from this recent flooding event.”
“In addition to emergency loans, [USDA Farm Service Agency] provides a variety of direct and guaranteed farm loans, including operating loans, to producers who are unable to secure commercial financing,” the spokesperson stated in a press release to the Herald. “These loans can help producers replace essential property, purchase inputs like livestock, equipment, feed and seed, cover family living expenses or refinance farm-related debts and other needs.”
Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources Commissioner Ashley Randle beforehand stated USDA emergency loans could not even be useful to farmers at this level given the timing of the floods and rains.
“A lot of the farmers were getting ready in the next few weeks to harvest their crop so they’re not able to replant for this year,” she advised the Herald final week. “And so a loan would just add additional debt to their bottom line without being able to bring in income for the rest of the year.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”