Dear Friends, 

Last year, dozens of farms in the Connecticut River Valley lost hundreds of acres of crops and people were put out of work due to severe flooding and frost. I held listening sessions across the district to hear directly from farmers on what they need to recover from damage and have a successful growing season.

One thing was clear: existing federal crop insurance was not meeting the unique needs of small New England farms, and loans certainly weren’t going to cut it. In fact, only 5% of Connecticut farms are enrolled in crop insurance, compared to 19% of farms nationally.    

Chris Bassette of Killam & Bassette Farmstead, Senator Richard Blumenthal, State Rep. Jamie Foster, Connecticut River Valley Chamber of Commerce President Jessica Olander, State Rep. Jill Barry, Rep. Larson, and Agriculture Commissioner Bryan Hurlburt 

This week, I visited Killam & Bassette Farmstead in Glastonbury with Senator Richard Blumenthal and Connecticut Agriculture Commissioner Bryan Hurlburt to announce new legislation supported by the entire Connecticut Congressional delegation that would make our nation’s crop insurance programs more affordable and reliable for small farms in the event of a disaster. You can view our full remarks here.

The Save Our Small Farms Act will improve the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) and the Whole Farm Revenue Protection Program (WFRP) so more farmers can enroll and be accurately insured based on the crops they plant and produce. 

We are fighting to make sure our farmers can get the support they need and deserve from their government and are not left behind when disaster hits. To follow what I’m working on both in Washington and in Connecticut, visit my Facebook page, follow me on Twitter, or follow me on Instagram.     

Regards,

John B. Larson
Member of Congress