3SquaresVT
3SquaresVT is a federal USDA program administered in Vermont by the Department for Children and Families, Economic Services Division - putting healthy food within reach. 3SquaresVT is for everyone who qualifies, including individuals, families, seniors, and people with disabilities. Hunger Free Vermont manages this resource hub.
AgrAbility
AgrAbility is a nationwide program designed to help farmers, and their family members, remain in agriculture when facing limitations due to aging, disease, injury, illness or other disability.
AgrAbility helps farmers remain productive in agriculture by making it easier or more comfortable to perform daily tasks. AgrAbility specialists analyze each situation and recommend practical solutions to address everyday challenges faced by agriculturalists. More info at http://www.vcil.org/services/agrability
Agricultural Viability Index
The Agricultural Viability Index (AVI) is a pioneering attempt to evaluate and compare agricultural vitality across New England, New York, and New Jersey, ultimately assessing whether a community can sustain profitable farm enterprises, support local wealth creation through agriculture, and keep land in farming for future generations.
Alternative Dairy Initiative
The Alternative Dairy Initiative (ADI), formerly American Micro Dairies, is a national 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Royalton, VT. American Micro Dairies changed its name to reflect the expansion of its mission and goals.
The mission of ADI is to enable the local production and utilization of safe and delicious farm-fresh milk and dairy products on appropriately scaled, humane and community based dairy farms. ADI does this through farmer and consumer education, milk testing, research on new techniques and management practices for small dairy production, and demonstration of these techniques and practices. ADI’s goal is to, through education and research, foster the development of more sustainable and humane community based dairy farms. Please see the current website, alternativedairy.org, for more information.
ADI is assuming operation of what was the Bob-White Systems dairy testing lab. The FDA-certified dairy testing lab is open to the region’s dairy farmers and provides raw milk testing including Vermont Tier II, and milk pregnancy, Johne’s, Leucosis, and Staph tests.
ATTRA – National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
“Looking for the latest in sustainable agriculture and organic farming news, events and funding opportunities? We feature all that, plus in-depth publications on production practices, alternative crop and livestock enterprises, innovative marketing, organic certification, and highlights of local, regional, USDA and other federal sustainable ag activities.” Visit website.
Bob-White Systems
Bob-White Systems (BWS) provides innovative equipment, supplies, technology and resources for the local production of safe, farm-fresh dairy products. Bob-White Systems, creators of the LiLi pasteurizer, provides farmstead dairy consulting services and affordable small-scale dairy equipment including bulk tanks, portable milking equipment, dairy and cheese making supplies for Micro Dairies milking cows, sheep, goats and even water buffalo. Inspired by the Slow Food movement, Bob-White Systems supports local, farmstead dairy farmers across the country and aims to increase the availability of locally-produced, safe and delicious farm-fresh milk, cheese and yogurt. To learn more about the company, visit them online at bobwhitesystems.com and LiLiMilk.com, on Facebook at Facebook.com/FarmsteadDairy and on Twitter @FarmsteadDairy.
CISA Marketing Tip Sheets and Wholesale Readiness Tip Sheets
Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) announces a series of marketing tip sheets, “Marketing to Enhance Farm Viability,” provides valuable information on a variety of topics for growers and agricultural businesses. The tip sheets include information from our work with Local Hero members and the expertise of experienced farmers, including several active in the Women in Agriculture Network. To view and download the tip sheets, visit our web site:
https://www.buylocalfood.org/resources-for-farmers/tipsheets/
Composting Association of Vermont
TOOL KIT: Feeding Food Scraps to Laying Hens
Draft Animal Power Network
DAPNet is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing connections to resources that advance the use of draft animals, including year-round educational and networking opportunities, and to highlight the ongoing efforts of people in the Northeastern United States and beyond who are educating, mentoring, and building community around animal power and sustainable land use.
DAPNet’s main organizational website
Farm & Food Legal Resources
A collection of online, existing legal resources compiled and organized by the Center for Agriculture & Food Systems (CAFS) at Vermont Law School. Resources are separated by issues pertaining to farmers & ranchers, consumers, food entrepreneurs, attorneys & advocates, and healthcare professionals.
Farm Aid: Farmer Resource Network
Farmer Resource Network
From the Farm Aid Website:
The Farmer Resource Network connects you to more than 500 organizations developing innovative approaches to producing, processing and marketing food from family farms. We’re here to share our stories about successful farm operations and connect you to people with ideas to diversify and strengthen your farm.
Farm Feeder Marketplace
With a tremendous need to find feed for farmers and producers, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets (Agency), and the Vermont Agency of Digital Services (ADS) have created a resource for those looking to buy and/or sell feed. Those selling hay, alfalfa, corn, soy, silage, and haylage can easily advertise their feed on the directory and can include details like whether the feed is organic and if the seller can deliver. For farmers looking for feed, the directory provides an easy platform through which they can quickly view availability, location, and pricing for a variety of feed. The link to the marketplace is included in the subtitle above and also HERE.
Farmers Market Legal Toolkit
The Farmers Market Legal Toolkit from the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems includes legal resources, best practice recommendations, and case studies for market leaders on selecting and enhancing business structures, accepting SNAP benefits, and managing common risks.
Flood Support for Farms
On the evening of July 10, 2024 and into the following morning, July 11th, parts of Central and Northeastern Vermont, in particular, experienced catastrophic flooding - devastating farms, businesses, homes, roads, and towns. This flooding event occurred precisely one year and one day from Vermont’s 2023 historic, widespread catastrophic flood.
We’ve created a Flood Support for Farms page on the Rural Vermont website to centralize direct aid efforts for producers affected by the July 2024 floods (crowdfunding, mutual aid, volunteer opportunities, and more). We’ve also created a Flood Resource page with other resources and helpful information.
Food Safety Modernization Act Resources
Vermont Law School's Center for Agriculture and Food Systems (CAFS) and UVM Extension's Northeast Center to Advance Food Safety (NECAFS) have developed this resource to help farmers navigate the changes to federal food regulations resulting from the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).
The site includes an interactive map illustrating the specifics of each U.S. state’s produce safety program laws, as well as seven fact sheets.
Healthcare
Office of the Health Care Advocate
Farmers and farm workers often have unique health care circumstances: hard-to-predict income, risk of farm injuries, fewer doctors in rural areas, and limited time to navigate it all. The Office of the Health Care Advocate is here to offer support.
Healthcare Enrollment Support for Farm(work)ers with Vermont Legal Aid
LISTEN HERE for farmer-specific information related to healthcare plan enrollment in Vermont. The information contained in this recording is tailored to the needs of the farming community. This Zoom recording was made on Tuesday, November 1, 2022.
Heirs’ Property Farmland Access
Heirs’ property is most predominant among African American landholders in the South and has been a significant driver of African American land loss in the United States. For example, in parts of South Carolina and Georgia, the Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina estimated that 14 million acres of heirs’ property has been lost since the Civil War.
Heirs’ property is also an issue for communities in Appalachia, Latinx communities in the Southwest, and Indigenous communities living on reservations. For more information, please check out: HEIRS’ PROPERTY FACTSHEET
Know Your Rights with I.C.E. & Border Patrol
A National Lawyers Guild fact sheet for employers, motorists, and farmers about Knowing your Rights with I.C.E. and Border Patrol.
A more recent addition to Know Your Rights for Farmers in Vermont is found here.
LocallyGrown.net
LocallyGrown.net gives the internet’s advantages to Farmers’ Markets.
Whether you manage or sell at a traditional farmers’ market with many other vendors or use a small email list to market produce off your farm, LocallyGrown.net is for you!
http://www.locallygrown.net/
National Health Soils Policy Network
The National Healthy Soils Policy Network is a group of farmer-centered organizations that advocate for state and federal policies on behalf of sustainable, organic, beginning, minority and/or family farmers.
Raw Milk Regulation
For Rural Vermont’s most recent Raw Milk Regulation Factsheet, click here.
On Pasture
A free, online grazing magazine.
On-Farm Composting
Farm to Plate’s Food Cycle Community of Practice has developed a new resource for farmers looking to expand on-farm composting in collaboration with their local community. The guide, Partnering Farms with Communities - a regulatory and start-up guide for on-farm food scrap composting, aims to clarify the regulatory landscape for both organic and conventional farms. It lays out potential options for community-oriented solutions to close regional gaps in the food scrap composting infrastructure currently available in Vermont. The guide also outlines strategies that small farms can utilize to create connections with residents, schools, food shelves, grocery stores, restaurants, and other organizations that manage food scraps and nutrients locally. Download the Guide here!
On-Farm Slaughter
For Rural Vermont’s most recent OFS Factsheet, click here.
Publication: Farmers' Guide to Disaster Assistance
Download the book for free from the FLAG website here.
And other related publications here.
UVM Extension
UVM Extension is building a comprehensive website for Veg and Berry Growers, providing resources specific to Vermont communities and the Northwest Crops and Soils Program of UVM Extension has compiled factsheets and links for both the dairy and veg sector.
UVM Center For Sustainable Agriculture
The Center for Sustainable Agriculture advances sustainable food and farming systems in Vermont and beyond. We cultivate partnership, support innovative research and practices, and inform policy to benefit Vermont communities and the UVM campus.
UVM Extension Resources for a Changing Climate
The UVM Extension Center for Sustainable Agriculture’s Farming & Climate Change Coordinator Joshua Faulkner, Ph.D., has made two new resources available for farmers in Vermont, the region, and beyond. Now available through the Center’s website.
VAAFM Raw Milk and On-Farm Slaughter Forum
On 5/26, representatives from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets answered live and pre-submitted questions from farmers about the regulations around raw milk and on-farm slaughter. Watch a recording of the forum here. On-farm slaughter info begins at 00:28 in the video and raw milk info begins at 28:30.
Vermont Agriculture and Food System Strategic Plan 2021-2030
“In 2019, the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF) was reauthorized by the Vermont state legislature to create the Vermont Agriculture and Food System Strategic Plan 2021-2030. The final version was published February 8, 2021 and was delivered to the Vermont State Legislature on February 11. Watch the press conference officially release the Plan here and watch the presentation to the Vermont State Legslature here and here.
The Plan contains a vision for Vermont's food system in 2030, 15 strategic goals with 87 objectives, and 34 priority strategies (recommendations for action). It is based on a series of 54 food system product, market, and issue briefs highlighting current conditions, bottlenecks and gaps, opportunities, and recommendations.
The structure of this website reflects the original Farm to Plate plan released in January, 2011. In 2021, we plan to update this website, to make the 2021-2030 Plan more easily available and to reflect a revised Farm to Plate Network structure for implementing the Plan.” —Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund Website, 2021
Some highlights:
-Rural Vermont contributed to Farm to Plate and the Agency of Agriculture's Vermont Agriculture and Food Systems Plan in a number of ways. We lead authored the briefs on Healthcare and Childcare, and we were contributing authors on the Agroforestry, Alternative Farmland Ownership, and Policy briefs.
-Egg Brief: "Strong direct markets, growing demand for organic eggs and humanely raised flocks, interested institutional buyers, and a recycling bill that could provide farmers with an opportunity to raise medium sized flocks with low input costs are all factors that present opportunities for growth. Realizing the potential of these opportunities will require more consumer education, coordinated technical assistance and business planning, and knowledge sharing between a growing network of medium sized diversified producers."
Vermont Farm Viability Program
The Farm Viability Program has helped more than 350 farmers to increase profits, improve farm management, develop new, value-added products, and plan for farm transfers. Farmers are matched with consultants to provide individualized business assistance. The Program is also currently enrolling farmers to work on storm recovery plans. More information can be found online at www.vhcb.org/viability or by calling 802-828-3370.
Vermont Food Systems Atlas VT Farm and Food Financing Inventory
The Vermont Food System Atlas, an online platform for strengthening Vermont’s food system, is now live! Includes videos, stories, data, and financing sources. Farm to Plate Network members can add News & Announcements, Events, and Job Listings.
VT Farm and Food Financing Inventory
Overview of capital providers who help to finance farm and food businesses, including debt, equity, and royalty financing, as well as various grant programs.