Farmer Participation in the PES & Soil Health Working Group

Rural Vermont noticed that the enabling statute of the PES & Soil Health WG did not include a participatory element and began to raise awareness on the issue via public comment early on as the group reconvened winter 2021. The program development task force soon agreed - a participatory piece could help to inform the PES & Soil Health Working Group process. Together with our partners from the White River NRCD, the Center for Agriculture and Food Systems, Conservation Law Foundation, farmer Stephen Leslie and working group member Cat Buxton, RV presented a recommendation in May on how such a participatory process could look like.

The proposal includes using available funds from H.315 (2021) to facilitate a participatory decision-making process with farmers. The 6-Point Plan also includes values and guiding principles for developing a participatory process. A background section underlines the importance to acknowledge that farmers are not monolithic and that ongoing farmer involvement is needed to ensure decision making is farmer-led. Read the proposal here.