Agriculture

WASHINGTON—Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) spoke on the Senate floor late last night to call for additional support for Vermont’s farmers as they recover from catastrophic flooding. The office of Governor Phil Scott estimates that 10,000 acres of farmland have been damaged by flooding. That number…

WASHINGTON—Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today introduced the Fairness for Small Scale Farmers and Ranchers Act and the Agricultural Worker Justice Act, legislation to support farmworkers and uplift small, family farms across the United States. Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) co-sponsored both bills in the Senate. Senator…

WASHINGTON—Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and Senator Angus King (I-Maine) today introduced the Farmland Access Act, legislation that will help protect American farmland for its intended use and expand access to farming for the next generation. The bill updates an existing, but underutilized, program within the…

ESSEX JUNCTION, VT—Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Vermont Governor Phil Scott, Vermont Secretary of Agriculture Anson Tebbetts, and State and local agriculture stakeholders visited farmer Paul Mazza and his family at the Paul Mazza’s Fruit and Vegetables farm in Essex Junction today to survey extensive damage to…

WASHINGTON—Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) joined Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) to introduce the Market Access, Promotion and Landowner Education Support for Your Regionally Underserved Producers (MAPLE SYRUP) Act last week, legislation extending and expanding the Access and Development Program, which supports maple…