MDAR survey to tabulate farmers’ weather-related losses

The Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources (MDAR) is seeking information about weather-related losses in 2023 and 2024 from farmers across the state as it prepares to report damages to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which will split up $220 million in relief funding among eight states.

MDAR has issued a survey, which has a deadline of Jan. 17, requesting farmers to share their production losses, infrastructure damage, increased production costs and soil contamination, among other long-term losses, which will help the agency develop a funding request for its federal counterpart.

The money comes from the government funding bill passed in late December, which directs the USDA to provide assistance in the form of block grants for the six New England states, as well as Alaska and Hawaii.

“The more we hear from farmers through the survey, the more effective the program will be, so we urge farmers to respond to the survey by Jan. 17,” MDAR Deputy Commissioner Winton Pitcoff said in an email.

MDAR encourages all farmers who suffered losses over the last two years to fill out the survey, even if they have received grants, loans or insurance payments related to those losses.

MDAR’s survey can be accessed at bit.ly/3DMMWe2.