5/5/2020
Farmers & Farm Workers are Essential: Standing in Solidarity with International Workers for May Day Car Rally

Over 250 people gathered from their cars for the 2020 May Day Car Rally organized by Migrant Justice. Maria Schumann of Cate Hill Orchard spoke on behalf of Rural Vermont in solidarity with farmers and farmworkers, and joined Rosi, a farmworker leader, speaking about the need for food sovereignty, workers’ rights, and urging Hannaford’s to join the Milk with Dignity Program. Check out great photos from the event here, and the livestream here (farmer/farmworker piece starts at 1 hour 48 minutes). Thank you Migrant Justice and Allies! 

“Farmers have always been essential, but you wouldn’t know it if you looked at the low wages and dangerous working conditions of migrant farmworkers all across this country, and you wouldn’t know it if you looked at the suicide rate of US farmers, 5x higher than any other occupation. You wouldn’t know it if you talked to VT’s dairy farmers, hanging in there by a thread. You wouldn’t know it if you talked to almost any farmer facing each day with crushing debt…The wealthy and the powerful are trying to use this moment to grab more wealth...But they can’t eat money. They need us. Our secret weapon is solidarity, to work together to understand we’re all in this together. And now is the time to demand an end to an exploitative, extractive unjust agricultural system based on exploiting people, animals and the world. It’s time to build and grow and nourish a regenerative, just, local, restorative, agricultural system that treats workers with dignity and honors this beautiful earth.” - Maria Schumann, Cate Hill Orchard & Sheep Dairy, Greensboro

4/29/2020
Federal Stimulus Emergency Funding Updates

• Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced a plan for the $20 billion+ allocated to Ag producers in the CARES Act. The plan lacks many important details, but directs $16 billion in direct payments to farmers and $3 billion in food product purchases for distribution through the emergency food system. Dairy producers will receive $2.9 billion in direct payments, and $2.1 billion is designated for specialty crop producers. Payments are based on milk production and calculated through a formula. The exact time is unknown, but there will be a sign up through FSA and payments could be as early as late May.

• A bill passed last week added more money to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, and made farmers eligible for the EIDL program, a loan program directly through the Small Business Association (SBA) which can be used to cover a variety of expenses. It provides a grant (the EEIG) of up to $10,000 ($1,000 per employee up to 10) whether the applicant takes the loan or not. Note that there is currently a backlog in applications and many Vermont businesses have yet to hear back.

• Self-employed farmers are eligible to apply for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) if they have had some level of lost income. If eligible, you’d receive a minimum of $790 per week and a maximum of $1,113 per week. https://labor.vermont.gov/PUA

• Farmers/retailers Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) applications being expedited. In response to markets closing or moving to pickup only/other models that restrict SNAP and incentive use, FNS is trying to make it easier for farmers/direct to consumer retailers to apply for an FNS number. They are expediting applications so farmers could receive authorization in as little as 48 hours. Fill out the application on the USDA site and then email debbie.crosby@fns.usda.gov to get help in expediting your application.

• Restrictions on physical location of transaction eased: We've also heard that since many local agriculture outlets are moving to delivery models or off-site pickup models of one sort or another, since SNAP processing online or over the phone still seems sadly out of reach, they are easing the restrictions on where the transaction physically takes place - ordinarily, you are only allowed to process SNAP at the address listed on your FNS authorization, but they are relaxing that requirement to allow for farmers or markets who are doing deliveries or off-site pickups of any sort.

• See this document compiled by the Agency of Agriculture for more details on COVID-19 economic relief available to the agricultural community, as well as their Small Business Owners’ Guide to the CARES Act.

4/1/2020 Farmers are Essential

Protecting public health by physical distancing and sanitization protocols is a crucial and top priority at this time, as is preserving the economic viability of farms and the food security of our communities. Addendum 6 to Governor Phil Scott’s executive order named the curbside pick-up of groceries, meals and beverages as essential reasons for leaving one’s place of residence. Agriculture has been deemed an essential service critical to public health and safety, including farms, farmstands, CSA’s, production and delivery of seed, chemicals, fertilizers, as well as animal feed manufacturers, processing and supply businesses. These businesses shall remain in operation. The order encouraged businesses to develop online presences, and telephone or web based ordering systems for curb-side pickup and/or delivery services. For example, greenhouses and nurseries who sell to non-farm consumers have to avoid in-person contact and use online/telephone sales.

But what about farmers’ markets?

The Governor’s executive order has temporarily suspended all Vermont farmers market operations while it is in effect, currently until April 15th. Rural Vermont encourages farmers’ market managers to appeal this interpretation to the Agency of Commerce and Community Development via this online form: https://bit.ly/covid-vt-business-operations. Some markets have already appealed successfully. 

Farmers markets facilitate direct sales from farmers to customers and account for $1.1 Million in total sales during March and April alone and generate about $2.8 million monthly during the summer months. Rural Vermont believes that farmers’ markets that ensure adequate physical distancing and sanitization protocols can be as safe if not safer than grocery stores, while simultaneously increasing access to high quality food, and allowing economic opportunities for farmers who are in great need. We are advocating for farmers’ markets to be considered “essential services” by the state, as well as supporting market structures that accept pre-orders and offer drive through pick ups, such as the Bennington Farmers’ Market. Maintaining access to local foods and keeping farms in business is of utmost importance to the health and resilience of all Vermonters. Contact Governor Scott and ask that farmers’ markets be considered “essential services” to support food access and farm viability today. Learn more here. 

For recommendations on health and food safety best practices please contact UVM Ext., NOFA-VT, and the VT Farmers Market Association. Please also see the resources below and consider communicating your concerns to agr.covidresponse@vermont.gov.

3/9/2020
National Family Farm Coalition Winter Board Meeting

Dear Rural Vermont Members,
I recently attended the National Family Farm Coalition's winter Board meeting in Birmingham Alabama, hosted by the Federation of Southern Cooperatives.  Rural Vermont has been a member of the National Family Farm Coalition for a number of years, and we are working to more deeply ground our connection with our partners in this coalition who are allies in our work across the country.  
We focused half of our time on exploring and reaffirming our commitment to racial justice, bearing witness to the history of white supremacy in Alabama and the greater United States, and learning about the history of black land loss and the fundamental importance of land equity and access in the civil rights struggle then and now.  Monica Rainge, of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives, gave us a tour along 6th Ave. to Kelly Ingram Park and the 16th Street Baptist Church where we learned about the importance of the church as a center of organizing and community and the details of the history of the 1963 bombing of the church. John Zippert  (retired program director of the Federation's Rural Training Center) met us at the Civil Rights Institute and provided us with stories and a short history of the Federation, and Jock Webb shared his amazing blues harmonica with us before we more thoroughly made our way through the Institute’s exhibits documenting the history of racism and civil rights in Birmingham.
We learned and strategized about NFFC's current primary long term campaign, which is focused on the increasing amount of corporate and foreign ownership of agricultural and forest land in the US today (a campaign sharing solidarity with other parts of the world affected by similar land grabs), and discussed parity, the need to revive the Food and Family Farm Act, and the NH Presidential Forum and toolkit.   I'm including here links from the NFFC LandGrab Committee documenting dramatic changes in corporate and foreign ownership of agriculture and forestry land in the US (you'll see that Maine has the most land in foreign ownership and investment as of the most recent data provided on the Ag Foreign Investor Disclosure Act Database).  We feel this is critical information for us to understand as a part of the greater context - and what's at stake - in our work on land access, food and resource sovereignty, policy, and equity in our food system, communities, and culture more broadly. There are legislative vehicles being used to limit this in parts of the US and we are considering whether these are appropriate policy responses for VT.
We will work to carry this forward, and we will be in touch - thank you for supporting us!
-Graham Unangst-Rufenacht
Policy Director

Links about corporate land consolidation:
https://www.agri-pulse.com/articles/11869-big-changes-ahead-in-land-ownership-and-farm-operators
Ag Foreign Investor Disclosure Act Database:  http://apps.investigatemidwest.org/afida/
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/goldcrest-farm-trust-closes-on-additional-300-million-in-pension-fund-commitments-300938250.html

2.12.2020

Payments for Ecosystem Services Update

Farmers are currently thought of, and compensated as, producers of the marketable products they sell from their farm (food, fiber, forest products, etc.). However, farmers are also increasingly being recognized as land managers who are expected to care for and protect the natural resources (water, soil, wildlife, etc.) on and around the land they manage.

In the 2019 Legislative Session, the Champlain Valley Farmers Association, the Franklin / Grand Isle Farmer Watershed Alliance, and the Connecticut River Watershed Farmer Alliance made a joint Committee presentation and proposal to fund an exploration of how to “value agricultural ecosystem services in Vermont”: 

“...The farmers of the State of Vermont, represented through the Franklin-Grand Isle Farmer’s

Watershed Alliance, the Champlain Valley Farmer’s Coalition, and the Connecticut River Valley

Farmer’s Watershed Alliance, along with the University of Vermont Extension are exploring the

potential to develop a strategy that would provide Vermonters with both environmental and food

security well into the future.

The strategy is to develop a system which monitors, evaluates, and monetizes ecosystem services (ES) provided by agriculture. This creates a mechanism that will encourage and incentivize the agricultural community to adopt and fine-tune ecological practices. Ecosystem services commonly fall into four broad categories: provisioning, such as the production of food and water; regulating, such as the control of climate and disease; supporting, such as nutrient

cycles and oxygen production; and cultural, such as spiritual and recreational benefits.”

In response, the legislature convened the “Soil Conservation and Payments for Ecosystem Services Working Group” as a body to undertake this task through a series of 5 meetings between late September and early January, culminating in a Report for the Legislature in mid-January 2020 (see the final report, webinars and materials, and meeting minutes here). 

__________________________________

At Rural Vermont, we began charting out our path in response to the emergence of this concept in the winter of 2018-2019.  Our primary question in relationship to PES is:  How may a Payment for Ecosystem Services Approach / Program address and contribute to achieving the goals and outcomes we value - and which we see as fundamental to the lives of farmers and communities here in VT, and farmers and communities whom we share solidarity with around the country and world?  Goals and values such as:  improved land access and succession, just livelihoods, scale appropriate regulation, agroecological literacy / education / opportunity, food and resource sovereignty, community scale bioregional food economies and interdependence, health care and mental health care, immigration reform and transformation, just distribution of resources, human rights, ecologically generative agriculture, reduction in the use of and exposure to pesticides and toxics, nutrient dense food and food access, racial and indigenous justice and reparations, and access to (and stakeholder status in) the development of policy. 

In the 2019 legislative session, Rural Vermont listened to testimony from the farming organizations (and farmers representing them) leading the push for ecosystem services, and worked to influence the membership of the Working Group to ensure that small diversified land managers’ voices would be included, as well as experts in soil health. This resulted in a seat for the Vermont Healthy Soils Coalition, as well as NOFA VT in the Working Group.  Rural Vermont, NOFA, and VHSC worked together throughout the working group process to include voices from our communities of farmers by: attending Working Group meetings ourselves, doing outreach about the meetings to our memberships, getting a stipend for farmers to attend the meetings, presenting on PES and the Working Group process at the annual Farm to Plate Gathering, and creating a survey for farmers which we sent out multiple times to our membership - and to the memberships of many other farming organizations who were at the PES Working Group meetings (see aggregated / de-identified survey results here). The time period allotted (late September through mid-January; 5 meetings) for the Working Group to meet and draft a report - and for us to bring voices into the process and keep up to date with the materials and research - was very limited.

Some of the consistent questions considered by the Working Group included:

-        Compensating for outcomes vs. practices?

-        What outcomes do we value? 

-        What current programs do we have and how are they working? How can they be improved?

-        How are those outcomes measured?

-        How is it paid for? (by whom, to whom, how much?)

-        How is it administered?

-        How are different scales and types of farms / farmers and land managers considered and impacted?

-        What is the timeframe and process for moving forward?

-        Whose voices do we need at this table and how do we facilitate them being here?

As you’ll see in the full Report, the Working Group recommendations include:  2 more years of funding to support the Working Group; increased understanding and agreed upon defining of “soil health” and the services healthy soils provide; review / evaluate / integrate existing tools for measuring / modelling / monitoring natural capital and ecosystem services; support the advancement of emerging tools; focus on at least 3 ecosystem services (water quality, flood resilience, climate stability); evolve the Vermont Environmental Stewardship Program; maximize awareness and use of existing programs, and seeking additional grant opportunities.  More details about these recommendations are in the Report itself.

Towards the end of the Working Group process, Rural Vermont, NOFA, the VT Grass Farmers Association, the Champlain Valley Farmers Coalition, the Vermont Healthy Soils Coalition, and ACORN signed a unity letter (we are still collecting signatures) reaffirming our mutual support for a farmer-led process in relationship to approaching this issue:

“We collectively support a bottom-up, farmer-driven initiative that empowers land managers and leads to payment levels to farmers that are equitable and based on measured ecosystem improvement. Such a system will benefit all Vermonters.”

---------------------------------------------------------

In planning how we’d approach this issue in the Summer of 2019, we determined that after the WG concluded its initial phase in January 2020, we’d collaborate with other farming organizations around Vermont to do outreach to farmers, and to those working on the ground with farmers.  We discussed this looking like regional conversations and potential survey work (which we hope to integrate into the Working Group process going forward at this point) in order inform people about the Working Group, get feedback on its Report and process, and most importantly to better understand how the working lands community itself envisions a just agricultural future - and the policy support which may support us getting there - in which ecological, economic, and social outcomes for land managers, our communities, and our landscapes are substantially improved.  This is where we are now - working with a diversity of farmer and farmer allied organizations to hear from you.
Last week (February 4th) the Connecticut River Watershed Farmers Alliance and the White River Natural Resource Conservation District hosted a “PES Farmer Discussion” in White River Jct.  If you are a member of, or are aware of, a community of farmers in the State who’d like to gather folks to discuss PES and / or other methods aimed at achieving a just future for agriculture in VT - please be in touch.  We’ll be helping to organize and do outreach around meetings offered by ourselves and other farming and farmer-support organizations around Vermont as we move forward.  We will also be posting research relevant to this topic such as this recent brief from the National Family Farm Coalition and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy - “why carbon markets won’t work for agriculture”.  We hope to see and hear from you there! 

With gratitude,

Graham Unangst-Rufenacht

11.21.19

Over the last few years, Rural Vermont has deepened its relationship with the Farm to Plate Network.  This year’s Farm to Plate Gathering was a heartening reflection of that. Ben Hewitt mediated the plenary panel of farmers discussing the cultures they come from and live in here in Vermont; Caroline Gordon was intimately involved in the workshop and broader conversation around the Universal Recycling Law and the roll of farms in managing food scraps; and I was invited to sit on a panel to discuss some of the questions and visions being explored by farmers - and more broadly - in the Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) conversations happening around the State and in the legislatively convened working group. 

Board members of past and present - including Cat Buxton, Cynthia Larson, John Cleary, Ryan Yoder, and more - led workshops on dairy, composting, and growing the social mycelium; and / or were active, honest, and passionate participants throughout the Gathering along with RV staff.  

The Gathering is a great place for networking among organizations and discussing policy, organizing, on-farm challenges and opportunities, and more.  I was glad to see more farmers, students, diversity, and new faces in the crowd this year; and this has been a goal of the Network. I remember coming to my first Gathering a few years ago as a farmer encountering a room full of so many organizational representatives and service providers, and feeling the tension between my positionality and culture and priorities, and what I was experiencing in that space.  I’m excited to feel the space shifting at the Gathering, and to see the work happening behind the scenes to address issues of equity, power, privilege and inclusion.

Aside from the Gathering itself, Rural Vermont is involved in the collaborative process for developing the next 10 year plan for the Farm to Plate Network through our role as a member of the F2P Steering Committee, as well as our role as Chair of the Farmland Access and Stewardship Working Group.  We’ll keep you informed about the processes of stakeholder engagement as F2P moves forward. You can learn more about the Farm to Plate network and plan, and how you can plug in here!

10.29.19

Recap of September & October Organizer by Policy Director Graham Unangst-Rufenacht

During September and October Rural Vermont Staff have been traveling all over Vermont in order to hear from farmers and other community members, to offer trainings and resources, and to sit at different tables as an advocate, watchdog, and collaborator. As part of our ongoing efforts to understand how farmers are implementing soil conservation practices, what they see as barriers and opportunities to advancing more regenerative agriculture, and how they may envision "ecosystem services" being produced on farms being measured and valued - we participated in a number of events at different farms. We went to three farms (one diversified livestock, one dairy, one diversified veggie) as part of NOFA VT's farm based "Soil Series" events; we attended the first of the Vermont Grass Farmers' and Abe Collins' day-long "Todays Farmers, Tomorrow's Watershed Contractors" events at Stony Pond Farm in Franklin County; and we attended the 2nd (of 5 or 6) "Soil Conservation and Payment for Ecosystem Services Working Group" meetings hosted by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture and the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board. We were also present at some farmers markets and seasonal events - which we hope to do more of this coming year!

Rural Vermont co-hosted with VGFA and UVM Extension an On-Farm Slaughter workshop at Howling Wolf Farm in Randolph with itinerant slaughterer Mary Lake, at which we discussed the current rules and regulations with respect to on-farm slaughter, handed out information, and had Mary lead us in a skilled workshop on processing hogs. We are continuing to host these events and reach out to communities who engage in this practice.

We are also excited to get more involved with youth in Vermont, and to support the integration of agriculture into the local climate justice movement. Over the last 2 months we worked to support the Youth Led Global Climate Strike and the Youth Climate Encampment - which saw 100 chickens, dozens of youth and community members, a draft horse, and more take up residence on the State House Lawn for 3 days and 2 nights!

Rural Vermont is continuing its work with the Pesticide Coalition as well as the Poultry Farmers For Compost Foraging - and look for more updates on policy efforts on these issues as we move closer to the legislative session.

At the national level, we've submitted comments to the federal government and our representatives in solidarity with our migrant farmer community members opposing the expansion of the seasonal H2A program. We also participated with a number of other local agricultural advocates and organizations in a Green New Deal discussion with Sen. Sanders' ag team

10.1.19

Patagonia Tools for Grassroots Activists Conference

By Mollie Wills, Director of Grassroots Organizing

At the end of September, I joined seventy-five environmental organizers and advocates from across the U.S. and Western Canada to participate in Patagonia’s Tools for Grassroots Activists Conference in South Lake Tahoe. The agenda was jam-packed, including workshops on grassroots lobbying, direct action campaign planning, working with frontline communities, and harnessing the power of storytelling. The foundation of the conference was imbued with the principles of Justice, Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion, and how collaboration can enhance and potentiate our work.

It was an inspiring week of “Organizer Camp” and I returned home invigorated and wielding new and more refined tools for how to engage with, learn from, and further activate our grassroots community. Perhaps the best takeaway was the relationships formed and deepened with like-minded organizations from across the county, including our old friends at the National Young Farmers Coalition, and new allies from the National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition and the Community Alliance for Family Farmers. I returned with my cup full of inspiration from new and revived tactics, creative ideas put into action, and strong alliances built with farmers and working lands advocates who share Rural Vermont’s vision of community food systems that are based on reverence for each other and the earth.

9.24.19

Second Annual State House to Farmhouse: 

Legislators Hear From Farmers 

On a recent beautiful Sunday afternoon, a dozen farms welcomed legislators and area farmers for the second annual State House to Farmhouse event. A coalition of statewide and regional ag and food nonprofits organized these gatherings, where rich and meaningful conversations were shared and relationships built between farmers and the legislators who represent them in the State House. Rural Vermont had a presence at three of the events. 

At the Family Cow Farmstand in Hinesburg, dairy farmer host Aubrey Schatz was joined in the pasture by local legislators, a handful of area farmers, and Rural Vermont's Lead Grassroots Organizer Mollie Wills for engaging dialogue in the company of the dairy's small mixed herd. Topics ranged from small changes with big impact regarding potential improvements to raw milk regulations, the challenges seasoned and new farmers still face regarding access to land, housing, and capital, and the ever-evolving discussion around payment for ecosystem services. 

At Littlewood Farm in Plainfield, farmer hosts Kagen Dewey and Elise Magnant, with farm owners Joey and Betsy Klein, were joined by a number of other local farmers - as well as a few local Representatives and Senators for a conversation facilitated by Rural Vermont’s Lead Field Organizer Graham Unangst-Rufenacht. Discussion topics included the economic challenges of farming and the environmental, labor, and personal health consequences of this; the challenges of navigating an intersecting apparatus of local, state, and federal regulations - and the lack of trust farmers have in the regulatory community; and the importance of linking folks needing help with farm succession to those needing help with farmland access and tenure.

At Black Dirt Farm in Stannard, farmer host Tom Gilbert was joined by several area farmers, local legislators, and Rural Vermont’s policy consultant Caroline Gordon for an event facilitated by Daniel Keeney of Center for an Agricultural Economy. When a Representative asked what they could do, farmers talked about money to put their land into the Land Trust and micro easements, cooperative cold-storage and subsidies, and the need for more business advisors given that farm viability caseworkers will quickly reach capacity as we are faced with a huge wave of farms seeking succession options. There was also discussion about Black Dirt’s production cycle, which includes chicken foraging on food-scraps and worm castings. 

9.24.19

In July, Rural Vermont and dozens of other Vermonters and Vermont organizations submitted comments (see previous blog entry) to the Green Mountain Care Board - the panel which regulates healthcare spending in VT - in opposition to the rate hikes proposed by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont, and MVP. These companies asked the Green Mountain Care Board for approval of an average annual rate increase of 14.3% to 14.5% and 10.9% respectively. The Board approved avg. rate increases of 12.4% for BCBS and 10.1% for MVP in August. The Green Mtn. Care Board is tasked with ensuring affordability and access to consumers, and solvency of these companies in its deliberations. Approved health insurance premium rate increases for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont plans on VT Health Connect will have risen by 52.4% since 2014 (on average) as of January 2020. The Chair of the GMCB stated after this decision that, “these rates are not affordable. We acknowledge they are not affordable. But at the same time, we can’t put a company out of business” (VT Digger). What about the solvency of farm businesses which are responsible for stewarding our ecosystems, as well as delivering food to our tables? The avg. national income for farmers in 2019 is projected to improve to -$1,400, and many dairy farmers across this region are receiving suicide prevention notices with their paychecks which often don’t meet the cost of production, and haven’t for years. Why does the healthcare industry have the privilege of a publicly funded Board tasked with ensuring its solvency? This healthcare system, including the GMCB, is failing the people and families living and working in VT - we literally cannot continue to afford these rate increases, and the inadequate coverage associated with the plans being offered by BCBS and MVP. Rural Vermont encourages other organizations across sectors to work for a healthcare system locally and nationally which ensures publicly funded universal care for all people. Contact Rural Vermont to let us know how healthcare costs have affected you, your farm, your family - and to learn about opportunities to share your experiences with policy makers.

7. 24.19

Rural Vermont provided testimony to the Green Mountain Care Board at the Public Comment Hearing on Tuesday, July 23 regarding the proposed MVP and Blue Cross Blue Shield rate increases. Read the article in VT Digger about the hearing here. Read Rural Vermont’s comments below:

To the Members of the Green Mountain Care Board,

Rural Vermont has supported, organized, and advocated for farmers, other members of the working lands, and the communities of which they are a part for 34 years.  Rural Vermont’s mission is to lead the resurgence of community-scale agriculture through education, advocacy, and organizing in support of Vermonters living in deep connection to one another and to the land that nourishes us all.

Locally and nationally farmers and members of our rural communities are identifying healthcare as a significant issue affecting their farms, livelihoods, and communities; and are asking farming organizations to represent them in the policy making process.  In the HirednAg 2017 National Farmer and Rancher Survey, 72% of respondents wanted the USDA to represent them in national health insurance policy discussions. In Rural Vermont’s 2018 Issues Survey - in which we identified a number of policy and / or organizing opportunities which we could focus on, and asked respondents to prioritize them - Healthcare ranked highest in over 200 responses.  It is our intention to honor these voices - and to work alongside others to organize agricultural, food systems, and rural economic development organizations (among others) to understand healthcare as an integral issue for their members, to advocate for their communities, and to help to bring them and their voices to conversations about the future of healthcare in Vermont, the greater northeast, and nationally.

Rural Vermont feels there is sufficient evidence to support the position - our position - that the proposed rate hikes submitted by Blue Cross Blue Shield and MVP, and ongoing significant rate hikes on a yearly basis, are unaffordable, excessive, and inequitable.

The following are some of the HirednAg 2017 National Farmer and Rancher Survey Findings: 

• Health Insurance is a National Farm Policy Issue - Health insurance is tied to farm and ranch risk management, farm viability and economic development. 

• Over half of the households (55%) are not at all or slightly confident that they could pay for the costs of a major illness or injury without going into debt. 

• 22% of the farm households had a medical or dental debt of over $1,000. 

• Over three-fourths (79%) of these households said health insurance was a risk management tool. 

• Almost half of farmers and ranchers (45%) are concerned they will have to sell some or all of their farm or ranch assets to address health related costs such as long-term care, nursing home, or in-home health assistance.  

• Just over half of farmers and ranchers (52%) are not confident they could pay the costs of a major illness such as a heart attack, cancer or loss of limb without going into debt. 

• Farmers are particularly vulnerable to healthcare needs (avg. age of app. 58 years, type of work, etc.)

The USDA forecasted avg. national net income for farmers is projected to be -$1,449.00 for 2019.  This will be an improvement from 2018.

The Vermont Farm to Plate Annual Report from 2015 presents the following data with respect to farm based income:

• 79% of farms under 220 acres—4,491 farms— got <25% of household income from farming.

• 67% of farms over 260 acres—893 farms (the number is reduced substantially at this point) —got >25% of household income from farming.

What we’d like to point out about this information is the low bar set at 25% of household income for farms of both scales, as well as the great number and percentage of farms in both categories which make less than 25% of their household income from farming.  This further attests to the economic challenges faced by farms, farm families, and farming communities.

Dairy farmers have been one of the most economically devastated sectors of farmers over the last few years - and over the last number of decades.  According to data provided by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, the number of cow dairy farms in Vermont has dropped from 1,015 in 2010, to 728 in 2018.  From January to July 2019 the number has dropped from 700 to 675. In the last couple of months we have seen conventional milk prices rise for the first time in approximately 5 years - yet they are still below the cost of actually producing the milk on most farms.  The Organic milk market has remained closed to new producers for well over a year, has asked many producers to produce less milk, and has in many cases also reduced its payments to farmers. Damien Boomhower, a farmer milking an app. 60 cow Organic dairy herd in Franklin County told me in November 2018 that he is losing more than $1,000 / cow this year and is not sure if he wants his children to take over the farm or become farmers.  The past few years have seen milk processors sending out suicide prevention notices with paychecks to farmers - and a substantial number of dairy farmers taking their own lives nationally, including in Vermont.

Rural Vermont strongly believes that general trends in farm income, farm viability, and rural economic health need to be justly considered in your deliberations concerning these proposed rate hikes and their affordability, and how access to - and quality of - healthcare in VT is affected by the high costs of premiums, deductibles, and copays.

Given that health insurance costs affect farm viability and the choices farmers make (as established in the testimony of farmers which Rural Vermont has heard, as well as the surveys and data provided in this testimony), here are just a few of the potential impacts of raising rates:

• Environmental impacts:  the Farm and Water Coalition - as well as many organizations locally and nationally - have identified a nexus between farm viability and water quality (among other environmental outcomes).  Farms which have a stable income and profit are able to invest in methods of agriculture which provide more protection of - if not generation of - ecological integrity (which also affects human health).    

• Compromising Farm viability (as attested to above)

• Worse health care outcomes for individuals, families, communities (including mental health).  Testimony the GMCB has heard suggests that people already choose not to visit healthcare providers or take necessary medications with the current cost of their healthcare.  This will only increase with further rate hikes - leading to unnecessary worse health outcomes.

• Diminished rural community vitality and economic viability:  less time available for volunteerism, poor small business viability, etc.

It is inequitable and unjust for many sectors of the economy (in this case, farmers and many local small rural businesses), of society, to be told by regulators, industry, and policymakers that they can not be afforded the cost of doing business, or of providing necessary healthcare to themselves and their families (as with many people who live in Vermont) - while allowing another sector assurance of its profits in the form of rate hikes well above inflation rates and at the expense of the general public.

This proposed rate hike will without a doubt affect the affordability of, and access to healthcare for many Vermonters who are currently struggling to even afford the costs of their current healthcare.  

At the Blue Cross Blue Shield hearing, a representative of BCBS stated: we are “on our way to a more sustainable healthcare system” through this process.  This is certainly not true for a public which is currently being asked to afford some of the most expensive healthcare with some of the poorest healthcare outcomes in a “developed” nation globally.  And though it is not the purview of this particular hearing, Rural Vermont feels that a publicly funded universal health care system is the only sustainable path forward, and the only path which assures the affordability of, and access to, healthcare for everybody.  

This same representative said that “solvency [for his industry and company] is the most fundamental factor in consumer protection”.  He said - to paraphrase - that individual Vermonters may struggle to afford healthcare - but better to struggle than to lose access. These statements, and those in the previous paragraph, belie the disregard of BCBS for the testimony which people - its members - provide year after year to this Board in relationship to its proposed rate hikes, their access to care, the affordability of care, and the quality of the care they receive.  Rural Vermont understands that people do lose access to healthcare when healthcare is not affordable.

He also said that healthcare is as expensive as it is because BCBS must provide rates based on a “community” vs. individual basis in VT.  We know that our community members are struggling to afford their premiums, deductibles, and insurance regardless of age or whether they are on medicare.  

He said that because there is “no penalty” for not carrying healthcare in VT - BCBS will lose clients.  BCBS and MVP may lose clients, however it is because they offer unaffordable and inadequate coverage, and many people have experienced poor quality of care.  Many of the fees suggested over time for not purchasing healthcare have been less expensive than the excessive costs of healthcare itself.  

As Blue Cross Blue Shield has pointed out - there are many rising costs in the healthcare industry from pharmaceuticals to hospital executive salaries which affect their rate projections.  We recognize these factors and agree that they are problematic and must absolutely be addressed - and we feel it is unjust and inequitable to pass along the cost of these problems to the rate paying public when most of this industry and its players enjoy profits and salaries well above most Vermonters.  

Lastly, we recommend that this Board suspend the end date of this public comment period - and conduct public hearings like this across the regions of Vermont outside of normal work hours.  This hearing and process itself is relatively inaccessible to those who need to work regular work hours, or travel in order to have their voices heard in person.
Sincerely, 
Graham Unangst-Rufenacht

Rural Vermont Field Organizer

7.7.19

Hi Folks,
Happy early Summer!  The first month since the end of the legislative session has included a lot planning for the summer and fall at Rural Vermont; responding to questions, concerns, and challenges from farmers and community members; and meeting with groups to continue ongoing conversations, and begin some new ones.  

In the very near term, we’re urging folks to take action on healthcare, and provide testimony at public hearings and during the public comment period on the proposed rate hikes (15.6% and 8.5% respectively) which Blue Cross Blue Shield and MVP Healthcare have proposed to the Green Mountain Care Board for approval.  

We are also calling attention to the proposed “merger” of the St. Albans Cooperative Creamery and Dairy Farmers of America - urging members of the St. Albans Cooperative Creamery to attend and provide feedback at the regional meetings being hosted by the Cooperative throughout July, and to vote at the meeting at the end of July.

In other news, I recently met with a number of other farmers, farming groups, conservation groups, and mediators in the Farm and Water Coalition - a group which will come together over the next few months in order to openly discuss (and hopefully resolve) some real and perceived conflicts between the farming community and environmental advocates, and to consider the relationship between farm viability and environmental health.  

The VT Sustainable Jobs Fund pulled together almost 30 leaders of agricultural organizations from around the State for most of a day to work together to envision how we can work together to meet the converging crises in VT of an “economy which has failed farmers”, large amounts of farmland potentially transitioning out of production, climate change, and greater economic consolidation and concentration within the food system.  There is increasingly a recognition that agricultural non-profits, Extension, the Agency of Ag. and others cannot continue to do what we have been doing and expect to see the radical change we need - for people and communities, for our local ecosystems and for the planet. The Farm to Plate Network will be doing ongoing work through its Working Groups to gather more ideas for moving forward - including the Farmland Access and Stewardship Working Group, which Rural Vermont Chairs.

From national research, and from the mouths of local farmers, we know that healthcare costs and access have a substantial impact on farm viability, and on personal, family, and community health and development.  Healthcare ranked highest among issues people were concerned about on Rural Vermont’s survey in 2018, and other national surveys have demonstrated how it affects the farming community.  Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont is asking the Green Mtn. Care Board to approve a 15.6% rate hike this year, and MVP Health Care is asking for an 8.5% rate hike.  The public hearing for Blue Cross Blue Shield is on July 22nd, the hearing for MVP is on July 23rd - both are at 8am in Room 11 at the Statehouse. There is a Rate Review Public Forum on July 23rd from 4:30 - 6:30pm in the Council Chambers / Memorial Room at City Hall.  

Tell the Green Mountain Care Board what you think:  how have - or how will - rate hikes affect you? Are they excessive or appropriate?  How do the cost of premiums and deductibles affect you, your farm, your family and community?  Are they affordable and do they provide adequate access to - and quality of - care? “My family has Blue Cross Blue Shield of Vermont health insurance, and this is how raising prices affects my family and farm….”  Here’s a link to an online public comment form from the Health Care Advocates’ Office.  Please be in touch with them with questions, or for more information about testifying or writing public comment:  1-800-917-7787.

The Board of the St. Albans Cooperative Creamery is proposing that the Cooperative merge with Dairy Farmers of America - one of the largest dairy processors and sellers in the world.  Dairy farmers and smaller Cooperatives are facing extreme financial challenges, and are faced with challenging decisions on how to move forward.  Consolidation and concentration of the dairy industry and the greater food system has been ongoing for decades - and many policy makers, government bodies, and industry actors have deliberately orchestrated and supported this undermining and impoverishment of small farms and local food economies.   St. Albans Cooperative Creamery will be hosting a number of regional meetings throughout VT over this month in order to get feedback from its members, and members will be able to vote on the merger at the end of July. If you are a member - we urge you to attend the meetings, share your voice, and vote for what you think will lead to the best future for your farm, family, community, and dairy farming more broadly.  Here is a link to a recent VT Edition episode featuring the Chair of the St. Albans Coop Board Chair Harold Howrigan Jr., Jackie Folsom (former dairy farmer and Legislative Director of the VT Farm Bureau), and long-time Rural Vermont member and dairy farmer Julie Wolcott.  Thanks to all of them and VT Edition for making the time to inform the general public about this very significant issue and decision.

Hemp Update

The VT Agency of Agriculture conducted two required public hearings on the proposed Rules to implement the law governing Vermont’s state Hemp Program. Rural Vermont sent a representative to both meetings, provided testimony and submitted formal comments. Read Rural Vermont’s comments here.

The DRAFT Rules will now be edited by VAAFM, based on the comments they received. There will be no further public hearings but Rural Vermont intends to stay in close communication with VAAFM about the final version of the Rules. Once finalized, the Rules must be submitted first to the VT Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules (LCAR) and then to the USDA. The VAAFM is working hard to get the final rules in place in time for this year’s hemp harvest.

Both public hearings (in Brandon and in Newport) were lightly attended, no doubt because both dates were ideal days for planting hemp after the relentlessly cool wet spring. Rural Vermont’s testimony and comments from producers and processors at the hearings generally focused on the following concerns:

1. More information is needed about how the VAAFM will be conducting the research that is mandated under the federal law. Especially as it is related to data the Agency will be collecting form farmers and processors. (It is likely there will be a “preamble” about this concern added at the beginning of the Rules.) 

2. Objections were voiced by Rural Vermont an others to the requirement for public disclosure (including to law enforcement) of information included on Hemp Registration applications.

3. Rural Vermont strongly criticized the proposed restriction on participation in the Hemp Program by those who have a past drug-related felony conviction. The Agency has said that this is included in the rules to comply with federal provisions.  Past and present Vermont hemp registrants that this situation applies to have the possibility of being grandfathered into the program moving forward. If you have a past drug-related felony and are interested in participating in Vermont’s burgeoning hemp industry, email mollie@ruralvermont.org for more information. 

4. Other comments focused primarily on the testing and record-keeping requirements 

If you have questions about the Hemp Rules or any other aspect of Vermont’s Hemp Program please contact mollie@ruralvermont.org. The VAAFM also has many resources available on its website.

4.8.19

It’s been a busy couple weeks in the field.  I’m recovering from my meniscus surgery and am ever so grateful to my friends and colleagues at Rural Vermont (from staff, to intern, to consultant, to Board members) who have all helped get me around VT these last couple weeks while i can’t drive.  We’re a resilient little crew!

One of the opportunities I had over the past couple weeks was to catch up with Lisa Griffith and Jordan Treakle at the National Family Farm Coalition.  We shared information about local, regional, and national work - from on-farm slaughter in VT to the Green New Deal - and affirmed our general alignment and shared vision for an equitable, just, and ecological agriculture.  NFFC supported our attendance at the Northern Tier Dairy Summit - and we look forward to sharing the experiences we had at the Summit with them, and through their networks, bringing attention to the efforts happening in VT around dairy.  

The last couple of weeks saw us participating in (and hosting) a number of events related to dairy farms, dairy farmers, and the dairy economy: Rural Vermont’s Faces of Dairy event in Enosburgh, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture’s 2 day Northern Tier Dairy Summit, and a meeting of agricultural stakeholders with the Dairy and Water Quality Collaborative working group.  All of these events and meetings gave us a chance to talk with and hear from many different farmers and farming organizations in VT - as well people and organizations from other States and countries such as the Wisconsin Farmers Union. We participated in conversations about potential options available to folks in these communities, how to support this farming community in navigating these options, and how we can work collaboratively within and without the dairy sector to transform our farming in VT, and more broadly transform the commodity pricing and farming systems which don’t serve our farmers or communities.  I look forward to continuing these conversations in VT and more broadly with our partners locally and nationally.

We also travelled to work on our educational and advocacy efforts.  Mollie Wills and myself were invited to Terry Bradshaw’s Agricultural Policy course at UVM to discuss Rural Vermont, and the work we do for a class period.  I also worked with David Howard (the Northeast Campaigns Director for the National Young Farmers’ Coalition), Maddie Monty (NOFA VT’s Policy Advisor), and the Vermont Young Farmers’ Coalition to offer a policy and advocacy training at the Intervale Center.  At the latter event, I was excited to meet a number of young farmers, and folks working in the working lands and food systems more broadly who are all passionate about affecting change on a number of issues: from healthcare, to pesticides. We hope to continue to grow efforts like this; working around the State and in collaboration with different organizations.  Next stop - April 25, Small Farm Advocacy Day in collaboration with NOFA VT!

3.25.19

We continued our meetings with the developing coalition of groups working towards strategically advancing State policy, and work at the local level, which will result in the reduction of the use of, and exposure to, these toxics over time. We’re currently supporting and working to advance H.205 which will significantly reduce the use of, and exposure to, neonicotinoid pesticides by limiting their use to licensed applicators, and some particular exempted uses. This bill is by no means comprehensive in relationship to achieving our long-term goals - but we see it as a significant step forward in many respects.

I’ve been working to bring together folks from the farming community and folks from the Paid Leave Coalition to discuss the paid leave bill, how it may affect the farming and working lands communities, and how it may be approached and / or reformed given these considerations. Catching up on reading bills! The Miscellaneous Ag Bill (H.525), the Agricultural Development Bill (S.160), the Taxation and Regulation of Cannabis Bill (S.54), and the New Mexico SoilHealth Bill. I am almost done reviewing all of these - after which we will submit comments and/or testimony. There is a lot contained in these VT bills - and the NM bill is an example of a bill related to soil health being advanced in another State which we are exploring.
We convened our Policy Committee in order to discuss the current bills we are working on and monitoring, and how to strategically mobilize stakeholder voices in relationship to them. We also discussed issues not directly at the Statehouse such as: payments for ecosystem services, soil health legislation in other States, and the “dairy crisis”.

The next couple weeks are quite full with legislative testimony on On-Farm Slaughter, meeting with the Human Rights Council, and many events and happenings: Rural Vermont’s Faces of Dairy event, the Northern Tier Dairy Summit, visiting Terry Bradshaw’s Agricultural Policy class at UVM, and meeting with the Vermont Dairy and Water Quality Collaborative.

3.12.19

The week of Town Meeting is a week off at the Statehouse; and given the sheer number of bills, the amount of activity at the Statehouse at the beginning of the biennium, and our most recent Small Farm Advocacy Day the week before, we also took a little bit of downtime.

During this week we caught up with one another, determining how to refine our legislative approach - and how to best utilize the different roles we have to achieve our goals at the Statehouse, and in the field.  The week prior, we held our second Small Farm Advocacy Day of the biennium (come out to our next one on March 20!); and met with the Pesticide Coalition we have been convening to discuss legislation such as H. 205 currently in Committee.  I spoke with Bob and Joan at Health Hero Farm about the work they’ve been doing with the ASPCA and other farms, all of whom are working on growing the understanding of, and support and markets for, products certified as “humane” under a few different certification programs.  We hope to share more of their developing project through Rural Vermont in the future! We continued conversations with folks working on the Paid Leave bill, trying to determine how we can make sure that folks in the farming community - and beyond - are justly included. And we participated in our bi-monthly call with the National Healthy Soils Policy Network - during which we heard updates from around the country about how soil health is being approached via policy in different States.  We also discussed how agriculture is being addressed in the Green New Deal, who is working to influence this, and how we may be able to contribute to this effort.

As the Legislature arrives back in the Statehouse this week - I am headed to surgery for my knee, and hope to be back soon!  Wish me luck!

2.25.19

The past two weeks have been full, and we’ve been working within and outside the Statehouse on many issues.  

The NOFA conference was last weekend, and this year it was particularly bitter-sweet as it was the first convened since the passing of Enid Wonnacott - NOFA’s long time director, and long time friend of Rural Vermont, and so many members of our communities.  With a heavy heart full of gratitude - I attended some amazing workshops which speak to the legacy which Enid has gifted us. Leah Penniman of Soul Fire Farm, brought the historical and contemporary experiences of farmers of the African diaspora and farmers of color to the conference - and brought the audience into a discussion of how we are individually and collectively engaging with these realities.  A panel of First Nations folks - including members of the Nulhegan-Coosuk Abenaki Tribe, Oneida Turtle Clan, Lakota Standing Rock Band, and Eastern Band Cherokee Wofl Clan - presented on their experiences, and the historical experiences, of their communities and how farmers and land managers may engage more - and more appropriately - with First Nations communities where they live. Rural Vermont also facilitated a workshop on Policy and Food Traditions.

We continue to be a lead organization facilitating the developing Pesticides Coalition, which is currently  focusing on the development of a long term and strategic campaign to reduce the use of, and exposure to, toxic pesticides in VT.  

We continue to sit on the Steering Committee of the Vermont Healthy Soils Coalition which met over the past two weeks.  This group operates a listserve which shares a number of articles, studies, conversations, and more about soil health. Please consider joining the listserve, and attending one of the upcoming series of panels, community dinners, and discussions: “The Soil Series: Grassroots for the Climate Emergency”.  These events are a collaboration between BALE and the VHSC, and will take place on 6 Wednesday nights in February, March, and April in Randolph at the Bethany Church.

As the conversation around paying farmers and land managers for ecosystem services and other yields they provide has continued - i’ve been having conversations with different people who are and / or have been involved in studying (or implementing) models for this in other places around the world; as well as people involved in the conversation in VT right now.

In my role as Chair of the Farmland Access and Stewardship Working Group at Farm to Plate, we convened a meeting last week at the Vermont Law School focused on exploring the processes for, and questions around, siting solar on ag land in Vermont.  We had a number of presenters discussing different topics - from how Regional Planning Commissions and towns are making and implementing rules, to grazing management under panels. We also heard from - and provided some feedback to - land access organizations like Vermont Land Trust, VHCB, and Land for Good around how they’re adapting to a changing farming and economic landscape.

After a hiatus, the Human Rights Council also convened this past week; providing an opportunity for a diversity of groups from different sectors (Green Mountain Self Advocates, Migrant Justice, 350 VT, Vermonter Center for Independent Living, Peace and Justice Center, and more) to talk with one another about the issues we’re working on, how we can collaborate, and where we may want to work to improve what’s currently on the table.  

I met with Ashley from the Main Street Alliance to learn more about the Paid Leave bill which is going through the legislature.  During our survey process this Fall, healthcare was an issue prioritized by respondents.  I asked Ashley questions about how the agricultural and small business community may be affected by this bill, we discussed some of the unique circumstances of farmers, and how Rural Vermont and others working with these communities may be able to help inform bills going forward to make sure they affect and include everyone equitably."

Lastly, I headed to Burlington to represent Rural Vermont at a meeting with Sen. Sanders’ staff and at a rally afterwards.  A number of organizations - led by Plainfield Community Action, Migrant Justice, and others - asked for the Senator’s support and participation in calling for an end to the United States Border Patrol’s plans to operate immigration checkpoints in the interior of Vermont; in making people aware of, and shutting down, checkpoints which are put up; and in calling for the release of people detained by ICE and / or Border Patrol.  The Senator has worked for the release of detainees in the past, and does not support internal checkpoints; but the group would like to see him use the full extent of his power not only as a Senator, but as a fellow human, to join in marches and other actions in VT directly challenging the use of violence and detention against member of our communities.

That’s all for now folks!  From the Field,

Graham 

2.12.2019

We had our first Small Farm Advocacy day of the season - an introduction to the VT policy process and Statehouse, and some of the issues Rural Vermont is focusing on this session.  Come out for our next Small Farm Advocacy Day on February 28th!

Soon after that, we had a full day retreat for Board and Staff members - the first Board Meeting with many of our much appreciated new Board members!  We got updates from all of our Board Committees, worked on plans for the upcoming year, filled Board offices and committees, and got a little time to enjoy conversation and learn more about one another.

Over the past couple weeks, I’ve met with other groups interested in reducing the use and impact of pesticides and herbicides in VT, and continued working on coalition development;  met with a group of regional organizations working on soils policy, and assessing the impact of current and future land management practices in the northeast; began to follow up with members of the “Future of Agriculture” white paper group to discuss the paper, payment for ecosystem services, and contribute our suggestions; met with Mark Hughes, Executive Director of Justice For All, to discuss reparations and criminal justice reform associated with the proposed Taxation and Regulation of Marijuana bill, as well as land access and technical assistance for people of color and other historically and currently marginalized people in VT in general; provided testimony to Sen. Judiciary with respect to equity, justice, and access in S.54, the Taxation and Regulation of Marijuana bill; monitored progress on how Act 250 may be revised; followed up with members who called about issues they’re facing on their farms; and continued to touch base and stay in touch with other agricultural organizations working in policy in VT.  

Lastly, in my role through Rural Vermont as the Chair of the Farmland Access and Stewardship Working Group at Farm to Plate, I’m convening a meeting of the working group this Friday from 1-4pm at VT Law School in which there will be a number of people presenting on different aspects of solar siting on ag land in Vermont, as well as some discussion of how Farmland Access Groups are adapting to a changing agricultural and economic world.

 1.28.2019

The first weeks of the legislative session have seen some important agricultural presentations, discussions, and proposals.  There are diverse, and increasingly unified, efforts among farmers and farming groups including Rural Vermont, UVM Extension, NOFA-VT, the Farm Vermont Bureau, the Champlain Valley Farmers Coalition, Farm to Plate, Vermont Grass Farmers and others to make our voices heard and cultivate agricultural and ecological literacy within and outside of the statehouse; to communicate the real economic challenges and hardships of farming, and the real opportunities to leverage agriculture, forestry, policy, and the greater working lands to grow healthy soil, develop a sustainable economy, improve water quality, right inequities, and help to mitigate and adapt to climate change (among other things). 

There is a renewed emphasis on the dramatic turn-over in agricultural land coming as the farming population ages and economic challenges force more farmers out - and reciprocally, more emphasis on the absolute need for farming to be viable, and that part of that must include farmers being paid for the ecosystem and public services their land and animal management is yielding.  We'll do our best to keep you updated on how conversations, legislation, and on-the-ground work intersect and progress! If you have questions, please contact Graham.