Vermont opens up to $31.7 million in aid for 2023–24 weather losses

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency said on October 23 that Vermont producers can apply for up to $31.7 million to address agricultural, timber and on-farm infrastructure losses caused by adverse weather in 2023 and 2024. The Vermont Agriculture and Timber Disaster Assistance Block Grant will be administered by the state through the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets. FSA is also reopening Emergency Forest Restoration Program (EFRP) signup for losses from the same period. Applications for both programs are scheduled to be accepted from October 26 through December 31, 2026; EFRP is limited to restoration work that is ineligible under the state block-grant program.

The block grant is designed for eligible agricultural producers, timber landowners and contract loggers with documented losses tied to qualifying weather events. FSA lists damage to eligible farm infrastructure, bare-ground practices, future economic loss and market loss among potentially eligible agricultural categories. Timber assistance may cover standing and harvested timber losses, licensed forester assessment costs, forest-stewardship plan updates and certain logger recovery expenses needed to reopen damaged harvest sites and restore access. These are categories for which an applicant may seek assistance, not a blanket finding that every reported loss qualifies. The total block grant is capped at $31.7 million, and the release does not promise each applicant a fixed or equal payment.

Applicants must have operated an eligible agricultural or timber business in 2023 and/or 2024, experienced a qualifying weather-related loss and still be operating. The loss must be linked to an eligible weather event and supported by documentation. Applications may include losses that have already been repaired, rebuilt or replanted. For relevant categories, applicants may instead attest that they will use funds to complete restoration or replanting in the future. FSA describes the program as noncompetitive: all applicants who demonstrate eligible unmet loss will receive payment. That does not remove the need to document eligibility or establish the amount of an individual award, and the announcement does not imply that every applicant will receive the same sum.

The separate EFRP track addresses post-disaster restoration on nonindustrial private forestland. FSA describes the program as providing cost-share assistance and technical support for approved practices that restore forest health, reduce further damage and support sustainable forest management after disasters such as fires, hurricanes, tornadoes, windstorms, ice storms and floods. Vermont’s reopened signup covers weather-related losses in 2023 and 2024 and is available to eligible private forest owners in every county. Applicants must request assistance from a local FSA office. The process includes an assessment of damage, documentation of disaster impacts, a description of proposed or completed restoration and documentation of expenses for approved work so cost-share payments can be calculated.

The boundary between the two programs matters because EFRP is only for restoration activities that do not qualify for the state block grant. Agricultural and timber businesses can seek block-grant information from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets; forest owners can ask their local FSA office about EFRP. Although both application windows share the same dates, the programs address different kinds of assistance and require different documentation. The state-administered grant covers eligible losses in agriculture and timber businesses, while EFRP shares costs for approved restoration practices on private forestland.

The federal block-grant funding was authorized under the American Relief Act of 2025. The $31.7 million figure is the federal allocation for Vermont’s program, not an individual payment amount, a verified statewide damage total or a guarantee that every loss will be fully reimbursed. EFRP is also limited to approved practices and cost-share support. The October 23 announcement therefore establishes a new application opportunity and its conditions: applicants must document weather-related losses from specified years, remain in operation where required and apply through the appropriate program. The amount ultimately paid will depend on applications and eligibility reviews.

The fact that applications concern earlier losses makes the scope retrospective and reviewable. The program addresses qualifying weather events in 2023 and 2024 and requires a documented connection between an eligible event and the loss. The business must still be operating, but the loss does not necessarily have to remain unrepaired when an application is filed. FSA says eligible categories can include damage that has already been repaired, rebuilt or replanted. For certain categories, applicants may also attest that they will use program funds for restoration or replanting in the future. This allows review of both completed work and planned activity, while leaving applicants responsible for retaining records of the loss and related expenses.

Bringing agricultural and timber losses into one state grant recognizes that farms and forest businesses can face different costs. On-farm infrastructure damage concerns physical assets used in production, while market loss is a separate category through which weather impacts can affect a producer’s sales conditions; the press release does not provide calculation formulas for either. Timber businesses may incur costs when standing trees or harvested timber are damaged, and may need professional assessments or updated forest stewardship plans. Some costs for workers to reopen damaged harvest sites are also potentially covered. Whether an expense is accepted will depend on program rules and supporting documentation; inclusion of a category in the announcement does not by itself establish that a claim will be paid.

The agency and state contacts reflect different administrative routes. Vermont’s agriculture agency will administer the block grant, and applicants can seek information about that program from the state. EFRP is administered by FSA and begins with a request for assistance to a local FSA office from the private forest owner. EFRP applications require a damage assessment, documentation of disaster impacts, a description of proposed or completed restoration and records of expenses for approved activities so the cost-share amount can be calculated. A farm and a private forest owner affected by the same weather event may therefore need different application routes for different loss components. The announcement does not describe one unified online form or an automatic payment mechanism.

The announcement does not specify how long applications will take to review or give a range of possible individual awards. The $31.7 million allocation should therefore not be read as the total amount of damage Vermont experienced over the two years; it is the ceiling for the block-grant funds administered by the state. For producers, an application requires consideration of the period in which the business operated, the weather event linked to the loss, the loss category and records that support the claim. FSA’s allowance for already completed work does not remove the need for expense documentation. The option to attest to future work applies only to relevant categories. EFRP cost-share likewise requires approved activities and expense records. Both routes require a supportable, rule-compliant loss file rather than a general assertion of weather damage.

For a forest-restoration request, showing that a disaster occurred is not enough by itself. The FSA process includes assessing the damage, describing the affected area and explaining the proposed restoration work. Expense records for completed work form the basis for calculating cost-share payments; future work remains subject to an eligible restoration plan and the applicable attestation requirements. The release does not publish a cost-share percentage or maximum payment for each practice, so applicants need to confirm those figures with the local office. These limits clarify that both programs support disaster recovery but are not automatic compensation systems with fixed coverage for every loss.