Aid Available For Farmers Hurt By Irene

From the office of Gov. Dannel Malloy:

Governor Malloy announced today that United States Department of Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack has granted his September 15 request for a disaster designation in Connecticut due to agricultural losses caused by Tropical Storm Irene.

Secretary Vilsack designated Fairfield, Hartford, Litchfield, Middlesex, New Haven, New London, and Windham Counties as primary natural disaster areas due to “losses caused by strong winds, heavy rainfall, and severe flooding associated with Tropical Storm Irene.”  Tolland County was named a contiguous disaster county as a result of its adjacent location to primary disaster counties.

The disaster designation allows farmers in all eight Connecticut counties to apply for USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) assistance including emergency loans and Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments (SURE). 

“Many of our farms were hit hard by Irene and then suffered from the subsequent flooding,” said Gov. Malloy. “I am pleased that Secretary Vilsack has granted this key disaster designation to all eight Connecticut counties to help our farmers who are feeling the economic impact of crop loss and production interruptions. These funds will help mitigate some of the damage sustained by those in Connecticut’s critical agricultural sector.”

“We are very appreciative that Secretary Vilsack has responded to the Governor’s request on behalf of our state’s farmers,” said Connecticut Department of Agriculture Commissioner Stephen Reviczky. “Connecticut has a vibrant and active agriculture sector, and the family farm is still a major part of our landscape today.  It is critical that that the state and federal governments work together to support the recovery efforts for our farms and farm operators.”

Farms may apply for emergency loans immediately and must have their applications in within eight months of the designation to be considered.  FSA will evaluate each loan application on its own merits, considering the extent of the farm’s production losses, the security available, and its repayment ability.  Applications for the SURE program will be accepted in 2012 after the 2011 farm revenue data required by statute is available.

Connecticut farmers interested in applying for assistance can contact FSA at one of these state or local offices:

FSA State Office

344 Merrow Road, Suite B

Tolland, CT 06084-3917

860-871-2944

FSA Brooklyn Office

139 Wolf Den Road

860-774-8397

FSA Norwich Office

238 West Town Street

860-887-9941

FSA Torrington Office

1185 New Litchfield Street

860-626-8852

FSA Vernon Office

24 Hyde Avenue

860-875-9770

FSA Wallingford Office

900 Northrup Road, Suite A

203-269-6665

FSA Windsor Office

627 River Street

860-688-3559