Governor Ned Lamont has submitted a request to the U.S. Department of Agriculture seeking a federal agriculture disaster declaration for all eight counties in Connecticut due to the significant damage to crops in farms across the state caused by sub-freezing temperatures and frost that occurred in the early morning hours of May 18TH. In his letter to Agriculture Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack, Governor Lamont notes that some farms in Connecticut recorded temperatures that morning in the mid to low 20s that lasted up to five hours. If Governor Lamont’s request is approved, the declaration would make farmers eligible for certain federal disaster assistance programs, such as emergency loans, to cover production losses they experienced as a result of the weather conditions.