SOUTHBURY, Connecticut — The senior center in Southbury was full of farmers Wednesday.
Dave Buck, of Guardians Farm in Southbury, organized the meeting after the powerful storms on Aug. 18. The meeting gave farmers the chance to voice their frustration.
Buck said, “We didn’t go there expecting to be showered with money and relief; we kind of learned what’s available… what’s not available I should say."
State agencies and politicians had the opportunity to learn about the destruction that occurred on these farms.
"This is an all hands on deck emergency" said U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal. "Leave no stone unturned in fighting for immediate relief, but we also need to change to laws that right now discriminate against farmers in the northeast."
Congresswoman Jahana Hayes was also in attendance.
"So, I came down here to support these guys but also try to engage the people making the rules to actually make the rules work for us instead of this fight we have all the time. They have these programs, but they all fall short."
William Dellacamera, of Cecarellis Harrison Hill Farm, actually experienced damage to his farm in hail storms this past week.
He said, "It destroyed my whole farm; about 120 acres of crops. I mean, it just decimated. [It's] beyond belief the destruction it did."
Dr. Emily Cole, the state's executive director for The USDA Farm Agency, says there currently are programs available to provide relief.
"There are programs that will support the loss of livestock. Right now, there are programs that can support loss of livestock feed [and] specialty crops. The farm service agency offers all those, but we need to know what each farm [has] been through."
Immediate assistance is harder to find, according to Buck. Much of the federal money takes a while to obtain, which is time these farmers simply don't have. Buck encourages his fellow farmers to fill out their damage reports and keep the conversation going saying.
"It's great that people showed up today, but we need to keep these voices going."
For more information you can visit the Southbury Area Farmers Facebook page. A link to a survey aiming to help state and local emergency management officials across Connecticut identify and understand damages that have occurred during the recent natural disaster activity can be found here.
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Alexa Farrell is a reporter for FOX61 News. She can be reached at afarrell@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook and Instagram.
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