Warren, Markey Urge Senate Leaders to Support Disaster Assistance For Massachusetts Farmers Following Extreme Weather Events in End-of-Year Appropriations Package
Letter
Dear Leader Schumer, Minority Leader McConnell, Chair Murray, and Vice Chair Collins:
We write to urge you 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.
Specifically, we 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.
2023 has already proven to be an exceptionally challenging year for Massachusetts farmers. In
July, catastrophic flooding damaged over 100 farms in western Massachusetts at one of the worst
possible times in the season: after the majority of crops had been planted and before they were
ready to be harvested.1 The flooding also affected dairy farmers who had to dump milk due to
impassable roads.2 The July floods were followed by flash floods in August and September 2023
that destroyed additional farms and made this year the second worst summer of rainfall on record
in Massachusetts.3 And the state's farms suffered not only flooding in the summer, but also frost
1 Boston 25 News, ""It's such a waste, all that food': Western Mass. farmers try rebooting after epic floods," Jim Morelli, August 10, 2023, https://www.boston25news.com/news/local/its-such-waste-all-that-food-western-massfarmers-try-rebooting-after-epic-floods/NIPZBBRIGJBQVMLPTNUCA77VVQ/.
2 CBS News Boston, "Floods devastate 'heartbroken' farmers as months of labor and crops are swept away," Steve LeBlanc, July 21, 2023, https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/floods-devastate-heartbroken-farmersmassachusetts-vermont/
3 WBUR, "It's been a summer of rain and flooding misery in Mass.," Beth Healy, September 12, 2023, https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/09/12/summer-flooding-rain-massachusetts; CBS News Boston, ""We lost everything": Lancaster refugee farm destroyed by flooding," Christina Hager, September 18, 2023, https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/lancaster-refugee-flats-mentor-farm-destroyed-flooding/
and freezing earlier this year: in May 2023, unseasonably late frost wiped out virtually all of
some farmers' crops.4 And in February 2023, an arctic freeze destroyed some farms' ability to
grow fruit for the year.5
All together, this year's extreme weather events ruined nearly 3,000 acres of crops in the state,6
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.7 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.8 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.9 The damage has undermined not only farmers' livelihoods, but also the
food security of surrounding communities that depend on the farms.10
Recognizing the severe damage to Massachusetts farms, USDA designated seven Massachusetts
counties as natural disaster areas in July 2023.11 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.12
4 WBUR, "After spring freezes wiped out apples, peaches and more, N.H. farmers pivot to other crops -- and new revenue sources," Kate Dario, July 10, 2023, https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/07/10/spring-freeze-apples-peachescrops-new-hampshire.
5 Boston Globe, "Arctic freeze damages Massachusetts fruit crop," Ashley Soebroto, February 14, 2023, https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/02/14/metro/recent-frigid-temperatures-damaged-peach-crops-massachusetts/.
6 WBUR, "Slammed by climate emergencies, Mass. farmers ask, 'Now what?," Barbara Moran, August 9, 2023, https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/08/09/massachusetts-farms-2023-frost-floods-climate-change.
7 WBUR, "Gov. Healey launches fundraiser to help flooded farms," Chris Lisinski, July 20, 2023,
https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/07/20/healey-massachusetts-farm-resiliency-fund; WBUR, "Many farms in western Mass. may see extended damage as flood watch continues," John Bender, July 14, 2023, https://www.wbur.org/news/2023/07/14/western-massachusetts-farms-flood-crop.
8 CBS News Boston, ""We lost everything": Lancaster refugee farm destroyed by flooding," Christina Hager, September 18, 2023, https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/lancaster-refugee-flats-mentor-farm-destroyedflooding/.
9 Boston Globe, "Devastated farms tally losses from Western Mass. flooding," Sarah Raza and Brian MacQuarrie, July 19, 2023, https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/07/19/metro/flooding-farms-western-massachusetts-produce/; Boston 25 News, ""It's such a waste, all that food': Western Mass. farmers try rebooting after epic floods," Jim Morelli, August 10, 2023,
ttps://www.boston25news.com/news/local/its-such-waste-all-that-food-western-massfarmers-try-rebooting-after-epic-floods/NIPZBBRIGJBQVMLPTNUCA77VVQ/; CBS News Boston, ""We lost
everything": Lancaster refugee farm destroyed by flooding," Christina Hager, September 18, 2023,
https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/lancaster-refugee-flats-mentor-farm-destroyed-flooding/.
10 Daily Hampshire Gazette, "In Easthampton, Mountain View Farm's major CSA crop mostly wiped out," Maddie Fabian, July 12, 2023, https://www.gazettenet.com/Easthampton-CSA-farm-inundated-51615878.
11 U.S. Department of Agriculture, "USDA Designates 7 Massachusetts Counties Primary Natural Disaster Areas," https://www.fsa.usda.gov/state-offices/Massachusetts/news-releases/2023/usda-designates-7-massachusettscounties-primary-natural-disaster-areas.
12 U.S. Department of Agriculture, "Emergency Conservation Program," https://www.fsa.usda.gov/programs-andservices/conservation-programs/emergency-conservation/index#:~:text=The%20funding%20for%20ECP%20is,to %2090%25%20cost%2Dshare.
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.13 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.14 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.15
Massachusetts farms are in dire need of grant-based federal aid to compensate for crop loss. We
request 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 (including milk), 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. Alternatively, Congress
could appropriate this funding in the form of a block grant to the Massachusetts Department of
Agricultural Resources (MDAR), which already has established a well-functioning system for
distributing funds to individual farmers. MDAR estimates that there has been roughly $49
million in farm losses in the state -- a number that is likely to grow as damage assessments
continue. 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.
Thank you for your consideration of our request and for your support of Massachusetts' response
and recovery process.
Sincerely,
Source