Vermont Agriculture Secretary Anson Tebbetts asked the federal government earlier this week to issue a secretarial disaster designation for the entire state of Vermont to help farmers cope with the impacts of a persisting drought .

The disaster designation, which the federal government recently issued for Orange and Windsor counties and may soon expand to Addison, Caledonia, Rutland and Washington counties, would make emergency programs and financial assistance widely available to farmers across the state.

Tebbetts asked for the designation in a letter Tuesday that outlined some of the impacts farmers are experiencing, including dead pasture, reduced or nonexistent production of corn, hay, and feed, emptied wells and streams, and diminished vegetable and fruit crops. The lack of feed

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