Farm recovery grant opens for CT farmers

Jan 14, 2025
By Farms.com

CT farmers urged to report weather losses

Senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal, along with U.S. Representatives from Connecticut, are calling on farmers who faced losses from extreme weather events in 2023 and 2024 to report their damages to the Connecticut Department of Agriculture (CT DoAg). This initiative is part of the push to ensure farmers can access the $220 million Farm Recovery and Support Block Grant, which is aimed at helping small and medium-sized farmers recover from agricultural losses caused by extreme weather.

"We strongly encourage farmers in Connecticut to participate in the CT DoAg survey on weather-related losses from 2023 and 2024,” the delegation said. “This is a critical opportunity to ensure your needs are accounted for as the state prepares to distribute disaster funding for farmers. The Farm Recovery and Support Block Grant provided $220 million in disaster relief funding for farmers impacted by extreme weather events in 2023 and 2024 and is intended to help affected farmers recoup their losses from these unexpected disasters. Farmers sharing the challenges they faced—whether it’s production losses, infrastructure damage, or increased costs due to invasive species—can help CT DoAg understand the scope of the need to address it as best as they can as soon as funding is ready. Please fill out the survey if you experienced these losses – help will soon be available.”

The Farm Recovery and Support Block Grant provides crucial relief without requiring farmers to have crop insurance or a national disaster declaration. This makes it a vital resource for farmers affected by localized weather events that might not qualify for other forms of assistance.

By completing a survey provided by the CT DoAg, farmers can report various losses, including crop damage, infrastructure destruction, and rising costs linked to invasive species exacerbated by weather conditions. The survey is essential for CT DoAg to accurately assess the extent of the damage and ensure that funding is distributed quickly once it becomes available.

The survey will remain open until January 19, 2025, and farmers who have experienced losses in 2023 or 2024 are encouraged to participate. This is an important opportunity to receive support during these difficult times, ensuring that Connecticut's agricultural community can recover and continue to thrive.

Photo Credit:

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.