Rural VT has worked alongside many other organizations for a number of years to reduce and limit the use and impacts of neonicotinoid pesticides (“neonics”) - while supporting producers who are currently using these seeds and products in transition.  

In 2019 we worked with a coalition of organizations (the VT Pesticide Coalition) on H.205 (Act 35) to make neonic products (other than treated seeds) “restricted use” - meaning they were effectively taken off store shelves, and only could be applied by a licensed applicator.  In 2020, this coalition planned on working on legislation addressing treated seeds - however the advent of the Covid 19 pandemic brought other priorities forth.  

In 2021, we again worked alongside others to bring more accountability to the Vermont Pesticide Advisory Council (the body functionally recommending how to regulate pesticides in VT at the time).  The legislature instead created a new entity in H.434 to replace VPAC - the Agricultural Innovation Board, whose duties go beyond VPAC’s to include plastics and other toxics - and we worked to address the make-up of the board and its charges.  

In 2022, we again advocated in relationship to a bill (H.626 or Act 145) we did not know had been drafted which originally sought to transition away from the prophylactic use of neonic treated seed over a few years; however, it was rewritten in committee to task the Agricultural Innovation Board with a number of tasks and legislative reports, including: requiring the Agency of Agriculture, in consultation with the AIB, to adopt by rule BMPs for the use of neonicotinoid treated seeds;  requiring the Sec. of Agriculture to, “work with farmers, seed companies, and other relevant parties to ensure that farmers have access to appropriate varieties and amounts of untreated seed or treated seed that are not neonicotinoid treated article seeds”; a new program of monitoring managed pollinator health and developing benchmarks associated with it;  requiring the Agency and AIB submit their proposed rules to the Agriculture Committees and General Assembly in 2024, and in the case of BMPs for all treated article seed (as opposed to neonics alone) to the Ag Committees by February 15, 2023; among other things. 

Now, in 2023, we are a member of the “Protect our Pollinators” coalition which is working towards legislation which will further reduce and restrict the use of neonicotinoids in the environment, including phasing out the use of neonicotinoid treated seeds in VT, while advocating for the support needed for farmers to transition.  Currently, an overwhelming majority of corn seed (by some estimates, app. 99%) used in Vermont is treated with neonicotinoid pesticides and used prophylactically by farmers - but research shows that they rarely (in app. 10% of cases) provide an economic or agronomic benefit for farmers, namely during times with high pest pressure.  They also have significant detrimental impacts to insects, birds, and mammals - and can persist in the environment for years.  We have for many years now seen precedent for this type of policy set in places like the European Union, Ontario, and Quebec, and in 2022 the state of New York passed a bill that is awaiting the Governor’s signature.  

Please visit the coalition website to sign our petition calling for phase out of neonicotinoid treated seeds and a just transition for farmers!  We’ll keep you up to date on the campaign as it develops!

In the 2022 session we covered 19+ bills related to agriculture and forestry (of which the majority passed) that were either directly related to our policy priorities, that we supported, provided testimony for, or monitored for you, our constituents, members and supporters. More details, including additional issues and policy positions can be found here.

Rural Vermont Legislative Policy Priorities

These are issues we actively advocated for because they are most relevant to current Rural Vermont policy priorities.

★Addressing contamination issues with food residuals management

With an interest in securing markets for clean streams of food residuals, our farmer stakeholder group initiated the Protect Our Soils Coalition that successfully advocated for a bill (H.446) addressing increased consolidation and contamination of soil by launching a process for regulating depackaging technology as well as a study on microplastics and PFAS in food packaging and food waste.

★Just and Equitable Cannabis Cultivation

Rural VT and the VT Cannabis Equity Coalition focused on integrating our primary goals related to social and economic equity, and agricultural access into the many bills related to cannabis introduced this session.  Our primary social equity goals were not integrated into legislation, leaving the marketplace without an ongoing source of funding for the Cannabis Development Fund and no reinvestment from tax revenue in communities disproportionately harmed by the criminalization of cannabis.  We sought to shape and improve S.188 - related to outdoor cultivation and agricultural use -which in its final version offers very few gains and some losses, including: a) Agricultural status for the smallest tier of outdoor cultivation license (we advocated to include all tiers of outdoor production) - access to current use status (if already enrolled), exemptions from municipal bylaw, Act 250 and similar development laws, and from tax retail sales. b) Cultivators are given allowance to sell seeds and live plants to other cultivators (but not directly to consumers); c) Wholesalers are also given allowance to sell seeds and live plants to cultivators (which we oppose); d) no direct sales license for producers or product manufactures.

★On-Farm Slaughter Reporting Form Requirement Repeal

Rural Vermont's ask to repeal the form requirements gained 155+ supporters but did not find specific consideration by legislators.  New state restrictions released via email in January now require livestock owners to be “present” during on-farm slaughter and to organize hiring itinerant slaughterers and transport of the carcasses for further processing. Farmers testified that these restrictions impair how they engaged with and built business models around the practice during the past decade, causing some to stop managing livestock. Rural Vermont is a member of the Farm-To-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, where we continue to partner to protect small farms and on-farm slaughter practices.

Bills Rural Vermont Informed

These are bills we testified on and organized for because they are relevant for the agricultural sector.

★H.466, An act relating to surface water withdrawals and interbasin transfers

The regulation, reporting, and future permitting process for surface water withdrawals and interbasin transfers in VT (H.466) was an emergent issue in 2022. Currently, those who own or have access to land directly adjacent to a surface water are allowed to withdraw “de minimis” amounts from those waters (so-called “riparian laws”). H.466 aims to develop a fairly comprehensive database to better understand how, where, and for what purposes surface water is currently being used in order to address climate change, water resource supply, and equity concerns, and to inform a future rulemaking & permitting process - similar to regulations in most other States.  The final bill was substantially influenced by farmers and farming organizations in testimony and in outreach to their representatives, and arrived at a compromise agreeable to the agricultural & environmental parties present.

★H.626, neonicotinoid pesticides and treated seeds

This bill changed substantially from its initial proposal resulting in the Agricultural Innovation Board submitting a draft rule with recommended Best Management Practices  and other protocols related to treated articles (seeds & other items treated with pesticides) to the Ag Committees by 2/15/23.  During the implementation phase of the rules, the Agency of Ag is held to “work with farmers, seed companies, and other relevant parties to ensure that farmers have access to appropriate varieties and amounts of untreated seed or treated seed that are not neonicotinoid treated article seeds.” The bill also includes a program monitoring managed pollinator health and proposing benchmarks to the General Assembly by 2024, and provides the Agency with 2 new positions.

★S.258 Senate Miscellaneous Ag Bill, including Right To Farm

S.258 expands what will be covered under the right to farm law by including a new definition of “agricultural activities” in addition to what is already protected as “farming”. The misc. agricultural amendments in S.258 also include an across the board good standing requirement for recipients of VAAFM grants; the Secretary's approval prior to transporting non-sewage waste to farms; the extension of the task force to revitalize the dairy industry into 2023;  and minor tweaks to existing programs.

Bills Rural Vermont Supported

These are bills Rural Vermont supported by amplifying existing advocacy efforts of leading organizations through our network.

★Environmental Justice Bill

S.148 initiates a series of mechanisms and working groups so that the state government facilitates meaningful participation with its constituents on issues of environmental burdens & benefits to fulfill Title XI of the Civil Rights Act.  The bill tasks certain agencies with reassessing past investments and to identify where there has not been an equitable allocation of resources at the municipal or census-block level, with the help of an environmental justice mapping tool that is now being developed. This assessment would determine which communities do not receive a proportionate amount of environmental benefits, and inform the agencies’ subsequent investments.

★BIPOC Land Access and Opportunity Bill

The creation of a diverse Land Access & Opportunity Board to promote racial and social equity in land access and property ownership passed through an amendment to S.226, the VT housing bill. The amendment aims to develop related programming in collaboration with VT Housing & Conservation Board (VHCB) and included $200K in funds and administrative support from VHCB. 

★Liability for poor workmanship at utility construction worksites

An effort to set stringent measures to prevent instances of poor workmanship at utility construction worksites where ingestion of debris can cause hardware disease or poisoning (such as at two farms in Tunbridge last year) ended up in Sec. 23a of H.515 requiring the Public Utility Commission to issue educational risk management guidance to broadband service providers. Unfortunately the bill directly states that: “It is not the intent [...] to establish new or expand existing rights, obligations, or remedies.” Guidance documents are not legally binding and are subject to change at the discretion of the issuing agency. The lack of accountability is disappointing  given the ongoing efforts to expand broadband and the associated risks that surfaced for livestock specifically.