VERMONT - USDA Potential Recovery Assistance from Winter Storm Elliott

Passing on info from the Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association...

USDA Potential Recovery Assistance from Winter Storm Elliott

The holiday weekend, Winter Storm Elliott brought extreme winds and weather to much of Vermont. For many of you, this probably mean downed trees and infrastructure damage in your sugarbush. The USDA may have funding available to assist with cleanup, but they need to hear from you.
Producers who suffered damages from Winter Storm Elliott are encouraged to contact their local Farm Service Agency (FSA) office and report those damages. FSA is in the process of requesting Emergency Conservation Program (ECP) implementation that may cost share on eligible expenses related to those damages. In the past, cost sharing was available for the expenses of debris cleanup and repair of sugarbush infrastructure.

For those of you who lost power, we hope it's since been restored. And for those of you who also work for one of the local power companies, a huge thank you for so quickly working to get folks' power back. Fingers crossed for a much more peaceful New Year's weekend!

If your sugarbush has damage from this past weather event, please reach out to your local FSA office as soon as possible. Questions? Please reach out! Allison@vermontmaple.org.