Connecticut is putting $4.9 million into small farmers’ hands to replenish fields and livestock ravaged by this year’s heavy precipitation and flooding, authorities say.
The state Department of Agriculture and the governor’s office Thursday announced the approval of aid to 239 applicants. The emergency assistance is through the state’s Production Loss Assistance Needed Today (PLANT) grant program.
“I visited several Connecticut farms that experienced weather damage this summer and saw they were literally under water, with farmers working 16 to 18 hour days trying to pump fields dry and harvest crops before they were engulfed by flood waters,’’ Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said in a statement. “Unfortunately, these farms have been disproportionately affected by recent severe weather events and incurred some losses that are not protected under federal crop insurance programs.”
The state values its yearly agricultural output at $3.5 billion.
