Federal agriculture officers declared a pure catastrophe in seven Massachusetts counties the place farmers are nonetheless recovering from heavy rains and floods final month that brought on no less than $15 million in damages throughout 2,700 acres, the Healey administration mentioned Tuesday afternoon.
The declaration from the U.S. Department of Agriculture instantly opens up low-interest loans and the choice to refinance present loans for farmers that skilled losses attributable to extreme rain and flooding from July 9 by means of July 16.
A catastrophe was declared in Berkshire, Bristol, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Norfolk, and Worcester Counties. Bordering counties — Dukes, Middlesex, Plymouth, and Suffolk — are additionally eligible for the loans, together with these in Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. More info is accessible on-line.
Farmers in Massachusetts “should know that their government has their backs,” Gov. Maura Healey mentioned.
“Our administration is committed to using every option to deliver relief to farmers, including state aid, the launch of the Massachusetts Farm Resiliency Fund, and additional efforts to secure federal assistance for municipalities and farms,” Healey mentioned in a press release.
A spokesperson for the USDA didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources estimated that 110 farms and a couple of,700 acres have been left soaked and broken by the extreme climate.
“We expect those numbers to continue to grow,” mentioned MDAR Commissioner Ashely Randle.
Randle beforehand advised the Herald that federal loans could add extra debt to farmers’ backside line with out the power to herald extra revenue for the remainder of the yr given the extreme climate got here simply earlier than harvesting season.
Members of the state’s congressional delegation had referred to as on USDA officers to declare a catastrophe in Western Massachusetts counties.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey and U.S. Reps. Jim McGovern and Richard Neal wrote a letter in July to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack and Farm Service Agency Administrator Zach Ducheneaux urging for the catastrophe designation.
In a press release Tuesday, Neal mentioned the farming neighborhood performs a distinguished function within the regional economic system of Western Massachusetts.
“This disaster declaration will quickly mobilize emergency assistance to Western Massachusetts farmers, providing critical federal funds that will allow them to continue covering monthly expenses in the wake of this disaster,” he mentioned in a press release supplied by the Healey administration.
McGovern mentioned it was “devastating” to stroll flooded fields final month. The catastrophe declaration is an “important step,” he mentioned.
“But it’s the first of many we need to take to deal with the challenges our farmers are facing — especially as they build more resilient farms in the face of climate change,” he mentioned in a press release supplied by the Healey administration.
More state support for farmers is on the way in which.
The Legislature included $20 million in farm reduction in a supplemental spending invoice despatched to Healey late Monday night time. The governor signed the invoice Tuesday morning.
The cash is reserved “to support mitigation costs associated with natural disasters that occurred in 2023,” based on the invoice textual content. That contains “mitigation costs” for farms impacted by pure disasters. The Executive Office of Administration and Finance and the Department of Agricultural Resources are tasked with distributing the funds.
Healey introduced final month the “Massachusetts Farm Resiliency Fund,” a fundraiser administered by United Way of Central Massachusetts that she mentioned was one of the simplest ways to supply direct reduction to farmers.
At a July 20 occasion in Easthampton, Healey mentioned she was “not holding” her breath for federal reduction.
“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 mentioned.
Materials from the State House News Service have been used on this report.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”