Small Farm Action Day Recap!
On Thursday, March 14th, Rural Vermont (RV) partnered with NOFA-VT to host our annual "Small Farm Action Day" (SFAD) at the State House in Montpelier. Over the past decade, these annual events have been offering farmers and the broader agrarian community an accessible and comprehensive introduction to Vermont’s legislative process, helping hundreds of people build the necessary skills and confidence to be effective citizen advocates. We gathered in the Lieutenant Governor's office with the biggest SFAD group in recent memory -- an enthusiastic crowd of farmers and activists who came to learn and exchange about Vermont's biennial legislature.
After arriving, mingling and dining on cider donuts, RV’s Legislative Director Caroline Gordon refreshed our fading memories of how a bill becomes a law: sponsored by a legislator from either the House or the Senate, bills are introduced and attempt to make their way through a layered process involving committees, amendments, and multiple rounds of reading and voting. Bills that manage to survive through both chambers and onto the Governor’s desk can either be signed into law, vetoed, or allowed to pass without the Governor’s explicit endorsement.
With this process in mind, NOFA Policy Director Maddie Kempner provided an orientation to the Vermont Legislature’s website, showing how to navigate its numerous features to monitor bills and their associated committees. It became clear that these committees are assigned far more bills than they can reasonably consider– how are bills prioritized? Who decides which proposals are most pressing? The discussion moved into legislative leadership, and the role of lobbyists and advocates to communicate with and educate legislators about background issues to particular bills, and to illustrate the direct impacts their policy decisions will have on their constituents.
Graham Unangst-Rufenacht, RV’s Policy Director, offered his experience with the power of testimony from affected citizens, and how best to capture legislators’ attention: be brief, direct, and respectful; speak from the heart and tell your story, with the help of a few credible facts to support you; always make a clear and focused ask for their support; and thank them for their service. Graham emphasized that emotions are a welcomed and necessary part of advocacy, but to ensure that anger and personal attacks towards legislators are avoided in favor of genuine (and, often, vulnerable) testimony regarding a particular policy’s ability to impact your life– for better or worse.
But how to get in the room with them? Emails have their place, as do organizations like NOFA and Rural VT, but never underestimate the power of finding a legislator face-to-face in the State House cafeteria! Former Legislative Page and current RV Intern Sadie Faris explained how to send hand-written notes to legislators, via the Pages and Sergeant at Arms, to request a meeting with them or express support while they’re voting on a bill in the chamber.
After writing notes to request lunch-time meetings with our representatives, the SFAD group broke into teams and set off on an informative scavenger hunt around the State House, finding important rooms and features of the 160-year old building. Team Carrot (Byron Garcia & RV Board Member Em Virzi) were the first to return, earning some well-deserved swag for their hard-won victory. By late morning, some participants were ready to have their voices heard and joined the Senate Agriculture Committee to offer testimony on bills dealing with a wide array of significant issues: the banning of neonicotinoid pesticides and how their continued usage would decimate already diminished pollinator populations (H.706), the “Right to Repair” and how the current inability to repair one’s own farming equipment has rippling effects across agricultural communities and consumers (H.81), the ability to sell uninspected poultry in parts and the positive impact that can have on small-scale producers to meet market demands (H. 603). Lilah Krugman, Programs and Outreach Coordinator for the Addison County Relocalization Network (ACORN), gave testimony to support funding for local food programs: “It was really empowering to testify! I feel much more comfortable with navigating the State House.”
After a break for lunch, more testimony was shared with the House Committee on Agriculture, Food Resiliency and Forestry.Our SFAD group was able to welcome individuals and families from Migrant Justice, a non-profit dedicated to organizing for economic justice and human rights, to share the time and speak to legislators about issues and policies particular to Vermont’s migrant farmworker population.
We gathered once more in the Lieutenant Governor's office to share our reflections and take-aways from this illuminating day at the State House. Byron Garcia of North Hero shared “"It was wonderful to have this opportunity to observe and learn about the legislative process to be more effective in my actions in the future." The law-making process had been de-mystified, with points of access clearly marked and strategies defined. Participants were encouraged to spread the word and help to build actively engaged communities fluent in the legislative language– growing the pool of citizen advocates willing and able to testify and hold our representatives accountable for decisions that (inevitably) impact us all. Now it's time to get excited for Small Farm Action Day 2025!
By Rural Vermont Communications Intern Melissa MacDonald