Disaster Relief Fund for Massachusetts Farmers Advances on Beacon Hill

Jan 09, 2024

By Jill Kaufman

Massachusetts lawmakers have advanced a bill that would create the structure for a disaster relief fund for farmers. It would distribute financial aid after major losses due to extreme weather.

The bill is a response to ongoing significant natural disasters farmers have been experiencing, said state Rep. Natalie Blais of Deerfield, who originally offered the bill with then-Sen Anne Gobi, now the state's director of rural affairs.

"Little did we know how much this bill would come into play, given the significant challenges that farmers have faced," Blais said, "whether it's a drought or the COVID-19 pandemic, [or] the floods and the freezes and the frosts that we saw over this last year."

There's little federal assistance for farmers when they experience crop loss related to weather, Blais said, noting that these sorts of natural disasters are going to keep happening.

In 2022, when farmers in Massachusetts were among those who experienced severe drought and in 2023, when many were impacted by heavy rains that flooded fields, the U.S. Department of Agriculture designated western Massachusetts counties as "Primary Natural Disaster Areas." This allowed the USDA Farm Service Agency to extend emergency loans to farmers.

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Video: Dicamba Returns for Georgia Farmers: What the New EPA Ruling Means for Cotton Growers

After being unavailable in 2024 due to registration issues, dicamba products are returning for Georgia farmers this growing season — but under strict new conditions.

In this report from Tifton, Extension Weed Specialist Stanley Culpepper explains the updated EPA ruling, including new application limits, mandatory training requirements, and the need for a restricted use pesticide license. Among the key changes: a cap of two ½-pound applications per year and the required use of an approved volatility reduction agent with every application.

For Georgia cotton producers, the ruling is significant. According to Taylor Sills with the Georgia Cotton Commission, the vast majority of cotton planted in the state carries the dicamba-tolerant trait — meaning farmers had been paying for technology they couldn’t use.

While environmental groups have expressed concerns over spray drift, Georgia growers have reduced off-target pesticide movement by more than 91% over the past decade. Still, this two-year registration period will come with increased scrutiny, making stewardship and compliance more important than ever.