WPBN: Those who have been looking for assistance will soon be able to receive funding to assist farmers who have been affected by a calamity.
This is one of the outcomes of a vote that took place in Washington, District of Columbia, which helped to prevent a shutdown of the federal government.
In August, a hailstorm that lasted for thirteen minutes caused William Dellacamera’s crops to be devastated, costing him $400,000. It was only through initiatives that were already in existence that he was able to receive a little less than half of that amount.
According to Dellacamera, who works at Cecarelli’s Harrison Hill Farm, “from that day on, basically everything I had grown for the season was destroyed.”
In order to advocate for increased state and federal assistance for farmers like him, he drove his tractor all the way from Connecticut to Washington, District of Columbia. This has earned him a reputation in the community.
During his trips, he was able to get meetings with the United States Department of Agriculture and the Connecticut delegation.
“I think they’re taking it seriously, and they did. They took it seriously,” Dellacamera stated.
A disaster assistance package, supported in part by the Connecticut delegation, was signed into law by President Biden.
Over the past five years, Connecticut has lost 460 farms, according to Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, mainly as a result of weather-related disasters that jeopardized their livelihoods.
As he promoted the bill on the House Floor Friday, DeLauro said, “I am pleased that we have an agreement on $100 billion in disaster aid.”
According to Representative John Larson, Connecticut farmers like Dellacamera will be eligible to receive $23 million in crop loss assistance as part of that.
“Now knowing this is going to make a difference is a big deal. And I hope it does, I hope it does make a difference,” Dellacamera remarked.
DeLauro pushed for a $220 million block grant as part of the plan, which would only be available to small and medium-sized farmers that had crop losses in 2023 and 2024.
The grant would cover all of New England, enabling farmers to receive assistance without the need for a national disaster declaration or crop insurance.
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Regarding the bill as a whole, DeLauro stated on the House Floor on Friday, “We came to a conclusion that these were all of the pieces that were needed to move forward.”
According to DeLauro’s staff, USDA will transfer disaster assistance funds to the states so that payments can be made.
There is still more work to be done, but Dellacamera says he is thankful. He hopes that general disaster assistance funds and this block grant will continue to exist.
“It takes the red tape out of it a little bit,” said Dellacamera of the block grant. “Hopefully it could be funded into the future, you know, as it might be needed more and more,” he stated.
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To determine which farmers will be eligible for block grant financing, the state of Connecticut will be determining whether farmers suffered from disasters in 2023 and 2024.
