WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Senate Agriculture Committee unveiled the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act, a multi-year Farm Bill proposal that includes several bills championed by U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Rural Development and Energy, to help Vermont farmers and rural communities impacted by flooding and natural disasters. 

“Extreme weather events are wreaking havoc on communities across the country—including in Vermont, where communities are still grappling with the aftermath of last summer’s brutal floods,” said Senator Welch. “This Farm Bill includes crucial priorities I’ve pushed for that work to streamline and improve disaster relief for communities impacted by flooding and natural disasters and increase funding for programs that support resiliency for farmers in Vermont and across the country. It’s vital that Congress passes this Farm Bill and gives farmers, producers, and rural communities the resources and tools necessary to make a full recovery after a disaster.” 

In addition to Senator Welch’s legislation to help farmers and rural communities impacted by disasters, several of Sen. Welch’s other policy priorities, including bills to expand rural development opportunities and increase rural clean energy production; improve access to nutrition; support our dairy and Vermont-sized farms; and strengthen our local food systems and expand markets were included in this Farm Bill.  

The Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act includes the following Welch priorities to help streamline disaster relief and resiliency for Vermont farmers:  

• This Farm Bill includes Sen. Welch and the Vermont Congressional Delegation’s bill, the Building Up Farmland Frontiers for Ecological Resilience (BUFFER) Act, which removes barriers for Vermont farmers to enter the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program to help protect farmland from flooding and erosion. 
• This Farm Bill includes elements of Sen. Welch’s Withstanding Extreme Agricultural Threats by Harvesting Economic Resilience (WEATHER) Act, directing the USDA’s Risk Management Agency to research and develop a multiperil index crop insurance policy. The WEATHER Act was introduced following the catastrophic flooding in Vermont in July 2023, and would better support farmers facing income losses after extreme weather events. 
• This Farm Bill improves Whole Farm and Micro Farm crop insurance policies. 
• This Farm Bill improves decentralized water testing and treatment technology to individuals and non-profits in rural communities. 
• This Farm Bill provides mandatory funding for rural water infrastructure to ensure rural communities have access to safe and clean water. 
• This Farm Bill provides an authorization of appropriations for a permanent standing disaster program to speed up delivery of disaster assistance. 

As Chair of the Subcommittee on Rural Development and Energy, Senator Welch has introduced several bills to strengthen rural America and expand opportunity. The Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act contains more than 100 pieces of legislation that aim to support our farms, create jobs, improve rural infrastructure, expand access to childcare and health care, support rural education and skills training, build out high-speed rural broadband, help rural homes and build more housing in rural America, assist homeowners and farms transition to greener energy and lower their utility bills, clean up our drinking water, conserve our land, and more. 

Read more about how the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act would strengthen rural development and expand rural clean energy production and infrastructure. 

Read more about how the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act would help promote Vermont’s local food markets and systems, help Vermont farmers transition to organics, and support Vermont’s dairy farmers. 

Read more about how the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act would help improve access to nutrition for Vermont families. 

Read a summary of the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act here.  

Read a section-by-section of the Rural Prosperity and Food Security Act here.  

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