Farmers receive first round of much-needed grants and financial relief through Dig Deep VT [Video]

All across the state, people continue to recover from last year’s historical floods which decimated cities and towns as well as farmland. On Wednesday, a round of checks from the Dig Deep Vermont initiative were handed to farmers to help with that recovery. “Last year is one of the worst years for farmers on record. They experienced a flood, persistent rain all summer, a frost, and also had damaging winds,” said Anson Tebbetts, the secretary of the Agency of Agriculture. The micro-grants range from $200-$1,800. “We’re just looking at it as starting fresh. I think it’s just a little boost heading into this season. We ended as you know on much lower profits last year then we anticipated, so it just helps us get to a better spot as we start this new year,” said Olivia Heltzel, from Inch by Inch Permaculture in Wheelock.The Heltzel’s grow flowers, fruits and vegetables …