Vermont To Get $8.7 Million In USDA Aid

Vermont will get about $8.7 million in emergency funding to help farmers and property owners recover from Tropical Storm Irene.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced Wednesday that 33 states, including Vermont, and Puerto Rico will share more than $300 million in emergency funds to help them recover from natural disasters.

Vermont will get about $6 million for the Emergency Watershed Protection Program, which helps property owners whose homes are threatened by flooded rivers, by stabilizing stream banks and protecting foundations and homes from future flooding.

More than $2 million will go to the Emergency Conservation Program, which provides funding and technical assistance to farmers to rehabilitate farmland damaged by natural disasters.

It's estimated that Irene flooding caused more than $20 million in damage to Vermont crops and farms.