Farmer Shout Outs

Growing a Farm Business in Rutland County

By Lindsay Arbuckle, Alchemy Gardens
Reposted from The Women’s Agricultural Network

In the summer of 2008, my partner Scott and I fell in love with gardening. We were serving as Americorps VISTA members in Montpelier and decided to sign up for a Community Garden plot. Within weeks, we were spending all of our free time at the garden. In our 20′ x 20′ space, we grew as many crops as we could, falling deeply into the rhythms of the seasons and joys of eating freshly harvested food.

We knew at that point that we wanted to see what farming was all about. We looked at a farm apprenticeship near Montpelier, but a friend in Scott’s hometown of Rutland encouraged us to consider Rutland area farms. With the buzz surrounding RAFFL (the Rutland Area Farm and Food Link) and its help for beginning farmers, we felt very compelled to settle in the area. We approached Paul Horton of Foggy Meadow Farm in Benson to see if he was interested in hiring apprentices. He was, and invited us to visit in January.

We arrived on a cold, snowy day and were amazed to see unheated greenhouses full of spinach and other tasty greens.

Paul’s interest in teaching us about farming, and knack for bringing high quality produce to market, was all we needed to decide that we would spend six months in 2009 working on his farm. That season, we worked 55 hours each week and absorbed as much as we could about Paul’s operation—technical skills, equipment use, marketing, business planning. At the end of the season, we were still unclear about whether farming commercially was in our future.

With part-time work starting in the fall of 2009 co-managing the Shrewsbury Cooperative at Pierce’s Store, a historic general store that reopened as a small food co-op, we approached another local farmer about finding space for a garden. I think we had a large personal garden in mind, but when Greg Cox of Boardman Hill Farm in West Rutland suggested that we “just take an acre,” we started thinking about going to market. We decided on a half acre for that first season in 2010. With an unconventional free lease agreement, we were able to use Boardman Hill’s equipment, refrigeration, and processing areas. The generosity of Greg and his wife Gay allowed us to really “go for it” without much risk.

In the early months of 2010, we started taking advantage of the many training programs for beginning farmers in Vermont. We signed up for Growing Places and learned all about crafting our business vision, setting goals, and the basics of financial management. We took part in NOFA-VT and RAFFL workshops. We saved money through an IDA (Individual Development Account) program that we put towards our business. In May, we started attending the Rutland Summer Farmers’ Market and sold nearly $10,000 in produce our first season. That boosted our confidence enough to know that we could do this as our profession.

We are starting our third year of growing, and things couldn’t be better. We have scaled up little by little and purchased equipment that will help us to be more efficient. We’ve continued to take part in as many workshops and trainings as possible, including the Holistic Management Whole Farm Planning course and Dan Kitteredge’s Nutrient Dense Crop Production. I’ve attended WAgN trainings and the Women in Sustainable Agriculture Conference. Starting this year, we’ll work with the VT Farm Viability Program to fine tune our business practices and plan for the future.

Editor’s note: Visit Alchemy Gardens website to learn more about the farm, it’s products and their growing business.

Flood loss msg from Steve Justice

The VT Agency of Agriculture sent this news release out yesterday:

Vermont Agriculture Secretary Encourages Farmers to Report Losses Sustained
from Flooding and Soaking Rains This Spring

Montpelier, VT – Many farmers across the state have experienced some damage and loss after the storms and flooding experienced in April, May and June of 2011. The Agency of Agriculture is urging farmers to report losses sustained due to these weather incidents as soon as possible. This will assist the state in exploring various areas of possible assistance from the federal government.

Vermont Agriculture Secretary Chuck Ross is urging farmers to assist in these efforts by contacting state and federal agencies about any damage or losses they have or will incur, so that the scope of the problem and the impacts can be documented accurately.

“This has been a very difficult spring for Vermont farmers because of record rains and damaging flooding. We know damage has occurred to buildings and fields, hay harvesting has been delayed with resulting losses in quality and critical planting dates are about to be passed,” said Ross. “We need to hear from farmers in order to evaluate and determine what kind of help might be available and where it is needed.”

Vermont Emergency Management (VEM) is requesting that farmers of all types report damage to any of their property in the following manner so that impact information can be included in their justification for emergency declarations.

• If there is damage to any part of your property or business, including but not limited to barns, milking parlors, crops, fields, equipment, etc., this information should be reported to your county USDA Farm Service Agency or your county Natural Resources Conservation Services office; you can also contact organizations to which you belong such as the Vermont Farm Bureau at 802-434-5646 or NOFA Vermont 802-434-4122. These organizations should send a summary of the information compiled to the Agency of Agriculture which will then forward to VEM.

• If there is damage to your house(s) or other dwelling in which you live, that report should be made by calling 211 and completing a damage assessment report with the operator. The operator will then forward this information to VEM.

If you are in need of physical assistance or provisions, you should contact your local community emergency responders. Local responders will assess the situation and direct you to necessary resources.

Following a declaration of disaster, USDA makes available low interest loans and can help consolidate existing loans. A Supplemental Revenue Program may also be initiated after a declaration of disaster. This would provide payments to farmers depending on the loss of feed based on quality and quantity of feed, after harvest has occurred.

Currently available is assistance from USDA through the Emergency Conservation Program to remove debris from farm fields and repair damage to fields so that they can be planted and harvested.
Farmers are encouraged to keep in touch with USDA Farm Service Agency at 802-658-2803 and Natural Resources Conservation Service at 802-951-6796.

Best regards,

Steve Justis, Executive Director
Vermont Tree Fruit Growers Association, Inc.
1765 Center Rd.
Montpelier, VT 05602-8544

Telephone: (802) 223-6502
Mobile: (802) 461-6015
E-mail: steve.justis@gmail.com

Farm Family Seeks Land / Equity Building Situation

Hey Everyone,

If you have any leads for Troy and his family, please reply to this blog post or email Troy directly…Thanks!  India Burnett Farmer, RAFFL Program Director
__________________________

Experienced farm family in mid 40′s with two children 7 and 9, looking for an equity building situation or partnership. Hard working, dependable, honest. We would like to raise beef, sheep,chickens, produce, cash crop. We are willing to do whatever it takes to make the farm successful. We are very serious. Up for suggestions. We are not looking for a job, we are looking for a lifesyle in which to raise our family.

Thanks, Troy
troylyons1@netscape.net

Attention Farmers – Got Stuff? Want Stuff?

Attention Farmers – Got Stuff?  Want Stuff?
The Vermont Business Materials Exchange www.vbmx.org is a free and easy-to-use website for Vermont businesses to list used or surplus items they want to sell or give away (yes freebies!).  It is also an opportunity to list items you want or need for your operations.  For the farming community, this could mean advertising the availability of finished compost, hay, straw, manure, used equipment, barn wood, etc.  It can also mean publicizing you are seeking items such as food waste for compost, used egg cartons, bedding material, etc for your operations.

This craigslist-like website for Vermont businesses allows the agricultural community to save time and money!  Check out all the possible items to list as wanted or available!

• Antiques and collectibles
• Auto parts
• Barn parts (beams, posts, slabs)
• Compost
• Construction equipment (backhoe, loaders)
• Construction materials (wood, doors, drywall)
• Containers (drums, pails, gaylords)
• Farm equipment (seed dispensers, tractors)
• Food waste
• Furniture
• Hay
• Manure (cow, horse, chicken)
• Office equipment & supplies
• Packaging materials (boxes, peanuts)
• Paint
• Pallets
• Textiles
• Tools
• Wood

To start posting items on www.vbmx.org, just go to the site, click on “Create an Account” found in the left hand column, and fill in your contact information.  Once this is done, you can begin to post your listings.  Another great VBMX feature is that you can opt to receive email announcements about categories of items you are interested in.  This “Alerts” option can be found at the top of your accounts page.

VBMX is sponsored by the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, Vermont Business Magazine, and Green Living.   For more information, contact: Mary Ann Remolador, VBMX Administrator and Assistant Director of the Northeast Recycling Council at 802-254-3636.

*** Please note:  Live animal listings, meats, and vegetables are not allowed on VBMX. ***

GMC receives grant to expand use of mobile flash freeze unit

GMC Receives $100,000 grant from Jane’s Trust

The Green Mountain College Farm & Food Project has been awarded $100,000 from Jane’s Trust to research the market potential for flash-frozen products, using a mobile flash-freeze unit provided to the College and several regional collaborators by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture.

Last June, the Farm & Food Project was granted use of the flash-freeze unit for three growing seasons in order to pilot flash-freezing of products for institutional and food pantry use. Flash-freeze units are expected to increase the ability of farmers to market seasonal products throughout the year.

The College is currently using the unit for research and education, in conjunction with the Farm & Food Project’s new “Community Food Lab,” a commercial kitchen facility on campus dedicated to teaching and research. Green Mountain College uses the flash-freeze unit as an educational tool for classes focusing on food and agriculture and to test the feasibility of certain vegetables and fruits for institutional food service providers. The quick freeze unit is also a tool to help farmers understand the potential of quick freezing. Showcasing the unit promotes new markets for local frozen products and may reduce reliance on food service providers to source produce from out-of-state during the off-season.

GMC and RAFFL currently use the unit to preserve donated produce to distribute to those in need throughout the year.

With the new funding from Jane’s Trust, the College will expand the goals and use of the flash-freeze project, working in close collaboration with partners including the Rutland Area Farm and Food Link (RAFFL), the Poultney-Mettowee Conservation District, and UVM Extension. The grant will fund a “flash-freeze specialist” position to transport the mobile flash-freeze unit to farms in Rutland County to process “gleaned” products, test flash-frozen products for use in schools, hospitals, senior centers, and the charitable food system, and develop market opportunities at regional food coops, farmers markets, and grocery stores. The grant will also support several research assistants and educational and outreach materials.

“Consumers benefit from flash-frozen local foods because they generally have a higher nutritional value than many foods preserved with high heat,” explained Philip Ackerman-Leist, director of the GMC Farm & Food Project and principal investigator for the grant. “Culinary staffs often prefer to use lightly-processed frozen foods like this to minimize labor costs and staff training.

Farmers benefit from flash freezing by providing financial return on crops that they can’t easily sell due to slight imperfections in produce or over-production of particular crops.”

He explains that flash freezing can help farmers get one step closer to establishing mid-scale agricultural production, a critical link to bringing the region closer to its full agricultural capacity. “This ‘loss of the middle’ is a nationwide dilemma, and it is manifested in the Northeast by our lack of regional fruit and vegetable products on a year-round basis,” Ackerman-Leist said.

“As Green Mountain College continues to educate the next generation of farmers, it is also committed to the development of an infrastructure essential to support small to medium scale agriculture in Vermont.”

Founded in 1834, Green Mountain College is a private liberal arts institution with 700 undergraduate students that takes environmental sustainability as a unifying theme across the curriculum. Green Mountain was named the nation’s “Coolest School” in 2010 by Sierra magazine.