The Agency of Agriculture received the final appropriation for agricultural support on June 26, 2020 via Senate Bill 351, which was signed into law today as H656. This bill includes financial assistance for many agriculture sectors. Read more to understand how the Agency of Agriculture will be administering these payments.
Staff have been developing the dairy assistance application and it will be open for submission in the near future. The dairy sector application is the Agency's priority and will be released first. When the application opens, the Agency will communicate broadly through cooperatives, processors, service providers, and other channels to ensure that the dairy community is aware of the opportunity. The Agency is also developing an FAQ document, webinar, and training numerous service providers to help guide applicants through the process.
The application(s) for other agricultural sectors is also in development and will be released after the dairy assistance program. The Agency will be developing guidance for this application to ensure producers and processors understand the opportunity. When this application is open for submission, the Agency will announce and share broadly with partner organization to distribute to their members.
To expedite the submission process for both applications, the Agency recommends collecting documentation regarding milk checks, federal COVID relief program payments, and documentation of other expenses incurred due to the pandemic.
While we don't have the full details of these funding streams, we wanted to ensure that this information was shared broadly.
Vermont's Economic Recovery Grant application is now LIVE. Full information on the application, who is eligible, FAQs, how to apply, and technical assistance can be found at the ACCD website.