A Harvest of Words is Friday, Dec. 7th at 6:30pm

A Harvest of Words - Local Authors' Reading

A Harvest of Words - Local Authors' Reading in Hardwick, VT

Join us in downtown Hardwick on Friday, December 7th at 630pm for our annual gathering of authors who will read their original works at the Center for an Agricultural Economy's office at 21 Mill Street, Hardwick.

Hear local authors Shari Altman, Bethany Dunbar, Ben Hewitt, and Julia Shipley share their stories on agrarian life, food and being human.  

Co-sponsored by Taproot Magazine and the Center for an Agricultural Economy (CAE), there will be a raffle of local books and a one-year subscription to the beautiful Taproot publication, a quarterly magazine that engages the mind, the hands and the heart.

We also encourage you to bring a non-perishable item for the Hardwick Food Pantry or monetary donation to benefit the CAE's Food Access Fund.

For questions, please contact Elena Gustavson at elena@hardwickagriculture.org or call 802-472-5840.

Media Contact:

Elena Gustavson

Center for an Agricultural Economy

elena@hardwickagriculture.org

Other Info:

Hardwick Area Food Pantry - www.vtfoodbank.org/FindFoodShelf/FindAnAgency/HardwickAreaFoodPantry.aspx

Taproot Magazine – www.taprootmag.com

Save the Date! A Harvest of Words - Local Authors' Reading in Hardwick, Vermont

For Immediate Release

Save the Date! A Harvest of Words - Local Authors' Reading in Hardwick, VT


Hardwick, VT, November 8, 2012 –Say good-bye to stick season and prepare for the coming snow with our annual gathering of agricultural authors and producers who will read original works on Friday, December 7th, at 6:30pm at the Center for an Agricultural Economy, 21 Mill Street, Hardwick, Vermont.

Join local authors Shari Altman, Bethany Dunbar, Ben Hewitt, and Julia Shipley as they share their stories on agrarian life, food and being human.

Co-sponsored by Taproot Magazine and the Center for an Agricultural Economy (CAE), there will be a raffle of local books and a one-year subscription to the beautiful Taproot publication, a quarterly magazine that engages the mind, the hands and the heart. We also encourage you to bring a non-perishable item for the Hardwick Food Pantry or monetary donation to benefit the CAE's Food Access Fund.

For questions, please contact Elena Gustavson at elena@hardwickagriculture.org or call 802-472-5840.

Media Contact:

Elena Gustavson

Center for an Agricultural Economy

elena@hardwickagriculture.org

Other Info:

Hardwick Area Food Pantry - www.vtfoodbank.org/FindFoodShelf/FindAnAgency/HardwickAreaFoodPantry.aspx

Taproot Magazine – www.taprootmag.com

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No Kid Left Behind

No Kid Left Behind Symposium is November 28th to help address the missing gaps when it comes to creating a viable chevon market in Vermont. 

Facilitated by Paul Costello of Vermont Council of Rural Development and sponsored by Vermont Chevon, the Center for an Agricultural Economy, Vermont Farm Viability and the Vermont Agency of Agriculture.

Contact Shirley Richardson for more information.

shirley@vermontchevon.com
802-535-4110

When: 9am to 12pm, Wednesday, November 28th
Where: Noble Hall, Vermont College, Montpelier, Vermont

Pies for People - Volunteers Needed!

Join us on Tuesday, November 13th December 11th for pie making and baking at the Vermont Food Venture Center in Hardwick, Vermont.

Every year, we gather volunteers to make and bake pies from donated ingredients and distribute to area pantries, schools and senior centers. We are excited to be doing this good work in the Vermont Food Venture Center's bakery and invite you to join us for an evening of baking and community.

If you would like to volunteer with us either Tuesday for the baking or Wednesday for delivering the pies, please fill out the form below and click "Submit".

Thank you!!

Kingdom Farm & Food Days - Thank you to those that give...

High Mowing Organic Seeds, the Center for an Agricultural Economy and the New England Culinary Institute would like to express our deep appreciation and thanks to the folks who have so generously donated food items to the Kingdom Farm and Food day event. Without their kind donations we would not be able to provide such an array of amazing local fare. Thank you all so much for your contributions.

Keep up to date at the Kingdom Farm & Food website!

Bonnieview Farm, Craftsbury Common - Mossend Blue and Coomersdale cheese

Cellars at Jasper Hill, Greensboro - Clothbound Cheddar, Bayley Hazen Blue and Harbison Cheddar

Sawmill Brook Farm , Greensboro-pasture raised Black Angus ground beef

Elmore Mountain Bread, Elmore - Country French bread

Michelle's Kimchi, Craftsbury - spicy Korean-style kimchi

Vermont Soy, Hardwick - artisan tofu

Laughing Moon Chocolates, Stowe - Fennel Truffles

photo credit Delia Gillen

Photo Credit Delia Gillen

Hardwick Community Garden Site Visit

We've been very busy planning the relocation of the Hardwick Community Gardens to Atkins Field on Granite Street and taking the first steps these past few weeks in preparing for the big move.


This week, LG Bellavance & Sons has transformed the new site for a garden space by removing brush, moving granite blocks and creating structures like a small amphitheater. The current ATV/VAST Trail is being relocated to skirt the tree line and to ensure there is continued access and a walking trail has been cleared closer to the garden site.


In addition, two acres behind the granite shed has been cleared away for future agricultural uses; a sample raised bed of local wood from Under Orion Farm has been constructed and then coated with Vermont Natural Coatings; and the Community Gardens sign has been resurrected next to the new site. 

Please join us this Friday, July 27th, at 4:00 pm at 150 Granite Street/Atkins Field, (same location as the Hardwick Farmers' Market) to discuss what has already been done, current plans, and to get input from communitymembers about what they'd like to see.  



We at the CAE would like to share with you the vision and plans of the Community Gardens and Atkins Field as a whole.  


We hope to see you there!

Kingdom Farm & Food Days coming up!

SAVE THE DATE!!
Kingdom Farm & Food Days
August 18 & 19, 2012

It's that time of year again for the Northeast Kingdom to celebrate local food! A collaboration between the Center for an Agricultural Economy, High Mowing Organic Seeds, Pete’s Greens, the New England Culinary Institute and the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, the annual Kingdom Farm and Food Days is a celebration of Vermont food & agriculture with Open Farms, a Kingdom Bike Tour, incredible and local food, music, workshops and tours. 

On Saturday, August 18th, events will include a bike tour hosted by the Craftsbury Outdoor Center, and guided tours at Pete’s Greens Farm. On Sunday, August 19th there will be tours and workshops at High Mowing Organic Seeds' Trial and Showcase Garden and a Local Foods Showcase of fully local, donated food prepared by New England Culinary Institute (NECI) students.

The event is also looking for volunteers to help the weekend’s activities run smoothly! Opportunities include helping with the set up and break down of events, being a compost station monitor or parking officer, and much more. If you are interested, please contact Elena Gustavson at center@hardwickagriculture.org.


Photos by A. Perry Heller of Hardwick, except where noted.

courtesy of CAE

photo by Delia Gillen

photo by Delia Gillen

photo by Delia Gillen

photo by Delia Gillen

photo by Delia Gillen

photo by Delia Gillen

photo by Delia Gillen

Join our Thursday, June 21st Regional Agricultural Tour!

Our next tour is Thursday, June 21st and following our local food system "hub", we will be visiting the places and people that make our agricultural economy work.

Starting at 10am in the Center for an Agricultural Economy's office at 21 Mill Street in downtown Hardwick, Annie Gaillard, one of our board members and co-owner of Surfing Veggie Farm in Walden, will lead our group, caravan-style, to Highfields Center for Composting, High Mowing Organic Seeds, Pete's Greens and others. We will end the day back in Hardwick to explore the Buffalo Mountain Cooperative and Claire's Restaurant, discussing how and why healthy and local food systems are an important part of our thriving region.

Visit our website or email Elena Gustavson to sign up for this tour or the others we have on the 3rd Thursday of each month, May through September.

Join us for Hardwick's SpringFest 2012

Join the community of Hardwick for SpringFest on Saturday, May 26, 2012!

Beginning at 8:30am with the Spring Festival Run and ending with fireworks at dusk at Hazen Union High School, the day is chock full of activities, a Big Parade on Main Street, crafts, vendors, food and rides. Kiwanis will be on hand with their famous chicken bar-b-que and hosting a children's carnival of rides, cotton candy and more!

Join us, the Center for an Agricultural Economy and Buffalo Mountain Cooperative, at Atkins Field after the Big Parade, as we host local exhibitors, vendors, food, music and a dunk tank in celebration of agriculture, sustainability and community. Find us across the field, next to the Barn.

the Big Parade

Many thanks to the following vendors and exhibitors! 

Food: Buffalo Mountain Cooperative, KIS Kombucha, Sumptuous Syrups, the Skinny Pancake, Vermont Kale Chips, Vermont Peanut Brittle

Green Building and Energy: Metruk's Electrical Contracting, Vermont Natural Coatings

Agriculture: Caledonia Grange #9, High Mowing Organic Seeds, Highfields Center for Composting, Snug Valley Farm, Walden Mountain Alpaca Farm

Community Development and Education: Center for an Agricultural Economy, Central Vermont Solid Waste Management, Hardwick Food Pantry , Northern Rivers Land Trust, PACE-Vermont,  REACH - Hardwick Hub, Sterling College, and WGDR/WGDH - Goddard College

 The day's events can be found here and you can download a map too!

SpringFest!

Local Words: Town Meeting

Another week and another post of Local Words!

Paige Wierikko, our Program Intern here at the Center for an Agricultural Economy, wrote a narrative earlier this month when she attended her first Town Meeting in Vermont.

Although Paige was there to observe the tradition of "direct democracy", her essay for us reflects on the community - the people, the conversations and the connections. It is refreshing to see the familiar world through the eyes of another.

-Elena Gustavson, Program Director

Town Meeting


by Paige Wierikko

As an outsider looking in, town meeting was as much educational as it was entertaining. I say “outsider” because I wasn’t a registered voter. Feeling slightly like Hester may have when I was made to stand and show all that I, Paige Wierikko am not allowed anywhere near the voting box, and if I were to get the itch to push my luck, I should be tackled on-spot. Okay, so the last part was not specified but if it had, people would have been talking about the 2012 town meeting indefinitely.

My outsider status also comes from my Wisconsin roots. I just moved to Vermont in July of 2011. But I must say that as I looked out into the crowd, I didn’t feel like a stranger. Walking into the Craftsbury Academy gym quite possibly for the last time before it’s torn down and rebuilt into a regulation size gym was slightly sad. My spirits were lifted immediately when I was greeted with a benevolent, “Paaaaige” at a very generous decibel level from Jay Wright. I picked a spot high up in the bleachers next to my buddy Ethan Morrison but only after I was embraced in a great big bear hug from Willie Ryan, shot a big smile at Bob Twiss, said a friendly hello to Pete Johnson, waved to all the Sterling students, and asked Harry Miller about his day.

I was in complete awe of how smoothly the meeting went. A very memorable moment that could have easily turned awkward happened when the vote for the Lamoille Solid Waste District Supervisor came up. Adrian Owens, the incumbent, stood and introduced himself. He then invited anyone who would like to take on this position to do so because it offered a limitless learning experience. The crowd got a nice chuckle but that laughter grew when the next person to raise her hand nominated Adrian again for that position. ..a second was quick to follow. In spite of his community throwing him under the bus, he good-naturedly sat back down and took one (well, more accurately, two years) for the team. This was the reigning attitude of the day, and surely dissolved potential for any greater conflict.

I skimmed the crowd and there sat Max and Nancy whom I met just a month ago while attending a Super Bowl party at Lou’s house. Sitting just behind them was Anne, an extremely compassionate lady who looks after Neil and Kristin Urie’s four amazing children. I spotted Princess, Annie, Tim, Bruce, Sarah, Adam, Joe, Elena, Jeremiah, another Annie, another Tim, another Joe, but not another Princess.

Eventually another paper vote comes up and I am able to stretch my legs and mingle with the people I have “I spied.” During a paper vote, everyone who would like to vote on the current article writes on a sheet of paper a “yes” or “no” and deposits it in a single box in the front of the gym. There is a last call and the ballots are counted. This process can take a while, but gives adequate time for socializing. I meet up with Tule, the Craftsbury Schools art teacher, who introduced me to the lady that makes Vermont Bee Balm, the lip balm I had put on my lips just minutes prior to our meeting. As I walked back to my spot on the bleachers I ran into Mansosoi and Kate Tagai. I am indebted to Kate for helping me find my first job milking sheep at Bonnieview when I first moved to Vermont. I also thank Mansosoi every day that he agrees to participate in the Sterling volleyball team that plays every Monday night at the IROC, the new recreational facility thirty minutes north in Newport. Now free for all Craftsbury youth 18 and younger, a motion the town was happy to support.

I not only got to see a gym full of all the memorable people I’ve come to know in Vermont since my move from Wisconsin, I also got to witness the purest form of democratic governing. Craftsbury taxpayers get the unique opportunity to voice their opinions and hear those of their neighbors, possibly louder than desired. In those few short hours, important decisions were made and citizens walked away feeling like they were an important voice and were able to personally represent their best interests. I am inspired to register to vote in the state of Vermont, not just because of the prideful “I voted” sticker whose absence on me seemed to emblazon a badge of humiliation across my chest, but because I want to be an active participant in the process that shapes the community I live in.

2012 Craftsbury Town Meeting in the school's gym
photo by Paige Wierikko

Local Words: A "Dating" Service for Food Producers

Annie Rowell is the Center for an Agricultural Economy's Farm-to-Institution Program Associate and began working for us last summer shortly after her graduation from Middlebury College. 


A multi-generation Vermonter, Annie has been the driving force behind our pilot Farm-to-Institution program at the Vermont Food Venture Center, funded by the John Merck Foundation and the Vermont Agricultural Innovation Center where in a typical work day, she goes from writing reports, researching and creating labels to donning a hair net and rubber boots to work the equipment in our kitchens, processing anything from applesauce for the local pantries to cubing root vegetables for a retail pack of winter vegetables.


In February, the VFVC hosted a group of forty or fifty enthusiastic specialty food producers and local farmers to network and make some local connections between value added production and locally grown food. What a success! Annie shares the story below. 


-Elena Gustavson, Program Director

Annie lugging squash from a local farm

In the White Room

By Annie Rowell

When passersby stop in to see what the big, new green building behind Aubuchon Hardware is all about, we talk about how we are an incubator, a resource for small food businesses, a new piece in the puzzle for the Vermont food system, but never about the Vermont Food Venture Center (VFVC) as a matchmaker – that is, until recently.  Turns out, the VFVC has become a bastion for collecting names and trading digits.  Thanks to our ever eager food producer clients, we witnessed our matchmaking potential on an evening in early February when fifty foodies congregated in the back corner of the VFVC.  

Since the launch of their businesses, two VFVC clients had struggled with their mission to source all or most of their product ingredients locally.  To Sumptuous Syrup’s Linda Fox, any words associating ginger, berries, and herbs (basil in particular, if you happen to know anyone) with local growers grab her attention faster than the word “fire.”  She and her business partner, Don Horrigon, never tire of finding new ways to find local ingredients for their cocktail syrups, which are perfect for anything from an evening tonic to a delicious ice cream drizzle.  For Michelle Guenard of Michelle’s Specialty Foods, she knew she wouldn’t be satisfied with her spicy kimchi until she knew the entire immediate family of the farmer she bought her raw ingredients from.  

After several months of run-ins and small talk in the warehouse, Linda and Michelle came to the conclusion that other area food producers must share their frustrations.  In the innovative spirit of true problem solvers, they took matters into their own hands.  Before we knew it, our staff were receiving emails of confirmed RSVPs for a matchmaker event between farmers and food producers to be held at the VFVC.  We were energized by the enthusiasm of our food production clients and hopped on the bandwagon to help out where we could.   For an event captained by two go-getters, we didn’t have to do much. 

In the potluck-y spirit of most Vermont gatherings, the VFVC doors opened after hours to area farmers and food producers on a Thursday evening in early February.  While I’ve always thought that the overhead panel lights in the office felt austere and institutional (hence my desk lamp), the spotlight brightness seemed to highlight a premier event as attendees trickled in.  I steered attendees along the warehouse cow-path that weaves around client storage racks, between the freezer units, and into the tucked away back corner.  The back corner (also known by its other very literal name: the “white room”) is the unfinished space in the warehouse; an empty 5,000 square foot room is quite the novelty in the Northeast Kingdom where gatherings generally occur in town halls and the occasional school gym. 

At Linda’s beckoning, we quieted our chatter and congregated in a large circle in the large empty space, a room where all who enter will soon be required to don hairnets and sanitized foot wear once it is finally fit-up for food processing. 

“I’m a new vegetable farmer and will grow whatever you need.”
  
This common one-liner proved to be the best pick-up line of the night.  Food producers, ranging from current VFVC clients in production to those on the treasure hunt for the magical million dollar recipe, scribbled contact names and zealously confirmed phone numbers as introductions traveled  around the circle.  Before Linda called “break” for the real one-on-one networking to begin, I couldn’t help but notice the collective focus in the room.  No clatter, whispers, or fidgeting in the crowd.  Everyone present was exactly that – present, thinking deeply on the goal of the intimate gathering and calculating how he or she could best contribute to the conversation.  While to an observer we may have looked slightly hunky dory (we had a rather high percentage of hand knit sweaters, clogs, various Carhartt items, and creative casserole dishes as part of the potluck spread), there was certainly a lot going on upstairs, so to speak.


Matchmaking is a tricky business, but with the right combination of persistence, spunk, and perhaps a stellar shepherd’s pie, the VFVC community looks forward to setting you up.  

The "sharing circle"

Local Words: Farming and Writing in Vermont

Julia Shipley, a writer and farmer, has been the co-organizer of our Local Author Reads event for the past two years. Julia is a 2010-2011 recipient of the Vermont Arts Council Creation Grant and is completing a "manuscript of braided essays about small scale agriculture". 


Her essay below, originally appeared in the Fall 2011 issue of Local Banquet. Samples of her work as well as information about her writing retreats and classes, can be found on her website, Writing on the Farm.


Having Both Lives: Farming and Writing in Vermont before 1972
by Julia Shipley


“Why anybody would want to be either a farmer or a poet when there were spools turning in factories was beyond the grasp of the old man. That his grandson should desire to be both was almost enough to bring on a stroke.”


According to the grandson’s biographer, “Determined in his course, Robert laid the whole matter before his grandfather. He would have a farm, live on it, produce his food with his own labor, and write poetry.” 


And although the grandfather eventually purchased a farm for his grandson, he turned it over to the young Robert Frost with no real encouragement. “You’ve made a failure out of everything else you’ve tried. Now go up to the farm and die there.” 


As we know, Frost exceeded his grandfather’s expectations. And many more have succeeded in this stroke-inducing thing—being both farmer and writer—and particularly here, in Vermont. And because of these dual efforts, we have a cultural harvest of literature. All of the farmer-writers mentioned in this article had firmly established their books and crops by the time I came into the world in 1972 (hence the title of this article), and all of them have inspired me since I moved to Vermont in 1997 with foolishness and feistiness, endeavoring to cultivate a farming and writing life of my own. 


Five years prior to this move, I had accosted a farmer-writer, Scott Chaskey, at a sustainable agriculture conference. He had just retrieved a notebook from his car and was heading back inside when I ran up to him and asked the author of This Common Ground: Seasons on an Organic Farm and head farmer of Quail Hill Farm in Amagansett, New York, my burning question: “Which comes first, which are you more of—a writer or a farmer?” He sighed and gazed across the lot, then back at me, and said, “Well, I’m a writer. I’m a writer first.” 

READ MORE HERE... Originally published in Local Banquet, Fall 2011

Fall 2011

SAVE THE DATE: SpringFest 2012 in Hardwick

The long standing SpringFest in Hardwick is an annual spring tradition for generations of Hardwickians. Coordinated by Kiwanis and many other supporting organiziations, join us for a 5K Run at 9am, parade on Main St., vendors/exhibitors, crafts, music, food, rides and games at Atkins Field starting at noon and ending at 4pm.

So, mark your calendars and come enjoy spring in Vermont - Hardwick style.

When: Saturday, May 26th; 9am to 4pm
Where: In and Around Hardwick

Main St. Parade
Photo courtesy of 

Upcoming Events, Workshops and More!

Photo courtesy of NEWT

January Events:

78th Annual Vermont Farm Show!
Champlain Valley Expo
Essex Junction, VT

Today through Thursday!

http://www.vtfarmshow.com/




Chainsaw Safety Training,
Northeast Woodland Training, Game of Logging
Saturday, Jan. 28, 8am to 4pm
Under Orion Farm
1009 Ducharme Rd, Cabot, VT
To register: wameden@gmail.com
$150 per course

Just a few spots left for this Saturday's course! Game of Logging is a world-recognized training curriculum that teaches chain saw skills. The “game” refers not only to the friendly competitive aspect of the training, but also to the necessity of having a winning plan or strategy for felling trees and working safely. The program breaks apart saw work into steps that are practiced throughout the course.
See their website for FAQ's and information.
 

Filing Farm Taxes,
UVM Extension New Farmer Project Webinar

Tuesday, Jan. 31, 7 pm

Click here to register or email: newfarmer@uvm.edu

Be ahead of the curve this year, and learn what you need to know about filing taxes for your farm business before March rolls around! Dennis Kauppila, UVM Extension Agriculture & Farm Business Management Specialist delves into the federal tax code as it applies to farm businesses. Wondering about depreciation, deductions, and Schedule F forms? Do you know where to go to learn more, get the right forms, and find help? This webinar will answer common questions about filing. This webinar will answer common questions about filing federal income taxes for farmers and help you find the resources you need to file accurately and on time.

February Events:


Instructor Training for "Youth Tractor Safety Certification and Education"
Wed, Feb. 1, 9 to 3:30PM
Northeast Safety Training Academy
8 Three Mile Bridge Rd, Montpelier, VT
Liz Kenton at ekenton@umv.edu or 800-278-5480
http://www.ydae.purdue.edu/tractor/default.htm for more information about the course.

This Train-the-Trainers workshop will offer guidance to instructors on some standard content and options for tractor instruction, and develop a peer mentorship community for instructors to be able to support each other's efforts.

This instructor training course uses the National Safe Tractor and Machinery Operation Program curriculum, created under the Youth Farm Safety Education and Certification Program to support agricultural education through Hazardous Occupations Safety Training in Agriculture.

Maximizing Milk on Homegrown Feed
Feb 7th, 10am to 3:30pm
American Legion
100 Parah Drive, St. Albans, VT
UVM Extension/Agriculture
$20 per session

High grain prices now and for the foreseeable future make it even more critical to focus on forage
management skills. The goal of this program is to look at forage management and feeding practices
that will optimize milk yield and milk income over feed costs. Come and learn from forage and
nutrition experts about existing opportunities to maximize milk production on homegrown forage.

Photo by Bethany Dunbar of Albany, VT

2012 Winter Conference,
Northeast Organic Farming Association, Vermont
Fri-Sun, Feb. 10-12
NOFA-VT

Featuring keynote speakers Vern Grubinger and Wendy Johnson, we expect this to be our biggest conference ever. Join over 1500 of your friends and neighbors to learn more about gardening, farming, homesteading, and eating locally - with over 70 workshops in the works, there's sure to be something for everyone!

Vermont Communities in a Digital AgeThursday, February 16th; 9am - 4:30pm
Vermont Technical College, Randolph Vermont
Visit www.evermontworkshop.org for links to more information and registration.
Registration is $20 and includes course offerings, refreshments, lunch and the chance to win a Kindle reader and other prizes in our raffle drawing.

Join community leaders from around the state to share ideas and learn how online tools are being used to create jobs, reinvent schools, attract visitors, improve civic involvement, and enliven Vermont communities. The workshop is sponsored by the e-Vermont Community Broadband Project.

Anne Galloway of VtDigger.org will be the keynote speaker. Session topics include mobilizing community resources for emergencies, a hands-on lab exploring online tools for business, a showcase of how technology is expanding the classroom for 4-6th graders, a look at conducting town meetings in the digital age, and ways to increase public Internet access in your town (and why). Pre-register online, by phone 802-859-3090, or by e-mail joanna@snellingcenter.org. e-Vermont partner The Snelling Center for Government is the lead organizer for Vermont  Communities in a Digital Age.

Third Thursday at the VFVC
Feb 16th, 6:30pm
Vermont Food Venture Center 
140 Junction Rd, Hardwick, VT
email: hkrantz@vtsbdc.org or call 472-5362
Free to VFVC members, $10 for non-members

Jim Harrison from the Vermont Specialty Foods Association and the Vermont Grocers' Association will present as well as John Mandeville from Lamoille Economic Development Association
regarding online Farmers' Markets.

Pricing for Profit, 
UVM Extension New Farmer Project Webinar 
Feb. 21, 7 pm.
Click here to register 
or email: newfarmer@uvm.edu

Learn how to set the "right" price for your products. We'll explore practical approaches to cost-based pricing, and learn how to integrate market information — what your competitors are charging — and your own profit goals in your pricing decisions. Participants will learn how to use the new, online Vermont Direct Price Reporting tool to get a snapshot of market conditions, and growers will share their approaches to integrating production costs, market information and farm goals into their pricing strategies. Participants in this webinar will be eligible for small-group pricing clinics and farmer-to-farmer mentoring in March through the UVM Extension Vermont Direct Market Price Project.


Save the Date!

2nd Annual Northeast Kingdom Farm & Food Summit
Sat, April 14

Once again this event will be hosted by the Center for an Agricultural Economy and Northeast Kingdom Travel & Tourism Association and feature workshops, discussions, and presentations from area food producers, farmers,  and area organizations which assist our agriculturally based industries.  Stay tuned for more details....
 

Good to Know:

Vendors Needed for 2012-2013 Montpelier Farmers Markets
When: Application deadline January 31, 2012
What: The Capital City Farmers Market is accepting applications for the Summer Market, Thanksgiving, and Winter Farmers Markets on the following web page: http://www.montpelierfarmersmarket.com/applicationvendor-info/

The Vermont Food Venture Center (VFVC) is OFFICIALLY OPEN!
The VFVC is a multipurpose kitchen incubator for value-added and specialty food producers,  operated by the Center for an Agricultural Economy (CAE). We provide commercial kitchens for lease, dry and cold storage, business services and production consultation.

Our doors are open and we are welcoming new clients! We are a service oriented facility that wants to see YOU succeed. Contact us for more information.

photo by Vanessa Fournier of the Hardwick Gazette