This year’s theme is Finding Balance in a Time of Change, and the conference content will address that through presentations on specific on-farm practices, current research findings, and a focus on social sustainability. The keynote, Jason Rowntree, will present Saturday, January 18, 2020 on current research findings about the role of grazing livestock in mitigating climate change and sequestering carbon on farms in the Northern US.  

Rural Vermont’s Legislative Director Caroline Gordon leads an on-farm slaughter workshop on Saturday from 3-4:15pm. The full description is as follows: In Vermont, there are many legal processes for slaughtering meat, from non-inspected personal-use exemptions to State or USDA inspected processing of livestock. This panel brings together Mary Lake (itinerant slaughterer, butcher and sheep shearer), Justin Sauerwein (The Royal Butcher) and Carl Russell (Diversified Farmer) to discuss the opportunities and challenges presented by the different approaches they have used in their operations. Rural Vermont will moderate the panel and will be able to respond to questions related to the policy, history, and technicalities of the “on-farm processing” side of the regulations.

Other workshop topics include hay field renovation, beef profitability, sheep and cattle genetics, custom grazing, and more. Look for Rural Vermont’s booth during the down-time! Co-hosted by Vermont Grass Farmers Association and the UVM Center for Sustainable Agriculture. More info, including how to register, at https://www.vtgrassfarmers.org/conference/.