DeLauro Provides Update on the Farm Recovery and Support Block Grant – Connecticut Expected to Receive $53 Million in Relief for Farmers

Today, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) notified Connecticut that the state will receive approximately $53 million from the $220 million in disaster assistance for small and medium-sized farmers through the Farm Recovery and Support Block Grant Program. DeLauro created and secured funding for this grant program in the government funding and disaster assistance package signed into law last December. This allocation is four times larger than the amount Connecticut received under the last supplemental disaster program, which provided just $13 million to farmers.

“This is a game-changer for Connecticut’s small and medium-sized farmers,” said DeLauro. “When unexpected disasters strike — from floods to devastating hailstorms — our farmers should not be left with pennies on the dollar. I designed this historic block grant program to remove barriers for New England farmers like crop insurance requirements because our federal farm safety net fails so many of our specialty crop producers, and to give Connecticut the flexibility to decide when and where relief is needed. This announcement is a major step towards putting dollars in the hands of farmers who have endured massive losses, and it is a dramatic improvement over what has been provided in the past.”

On August 26, a severe 13-minute hailstorm damaged several farms in Connecticut. One of them was William Dellacamera’s farm, Cecarelli’s Harrison Hill Farm in Northford. Although Will had insurance coverage, he was only able to recoup a little less than half of his over $400,000 loss.

Many specialty crop farms have a hard time receiving crop insurance because of the lack of availability of coverage for diverse and specialty crops. Other insurance-like disaster assistance programs provide very little money. The Farm Recovery and Support Block Grant was created to ensure small and medium-sized farmers can get relief, as our current system often leaves them behind. 

“I am grateful to Representatives John Larson and Joe Courtney, and to farmers like Will Dellacamera, whose advocacy helped push this across the finish line,” DeLauro added. “I am particularly grateful for the Connecticut Department of Agriculture and Commissioner Hulburt for tirelessly advocating for our state in this process. These dollars will ensure small and medium-sized farmers in Connecticut and across New England have the resources they need to recover and rebuild.”

Connecticut is awaiting approval from USDA on the program design submitted by Connecticut Department of Agriculture and the execution of a contract to formalize the agreement and begin implementation. The Connecticut Department of Agriculture anticipates that the scope of work and agreement will be finalized in September. Following that they aim to open an application period in Fall 2025.