Vermont Food System News

MARCH 2017

Vermont's Farm to Plate food system plan (2011-2020) is being implemented statewide by the 350+ member organizations of the Farm to Plate Network to increase economic development and jobs in the farm and food sector and improve access to healthy local food for all Vermonters.

One of the strategic priorities being addressed over the next several years is to:

Improve Viability of Farms and Food Businesses

If farms and food businesses are not profitable, Vermont's agricultural economy cannot be sustainable. Cost and scales of production, sales in different market channels, food safety, business management, infrastructure and equipment, distribution, and environmental impacts all play roles in overall business viability. The Farm to Plate Network addresses these variables by identifying effective business models and building trust and transparency along entire supply chains (e.g. Vermont's meat industry) to help farmers and producers profitably sell into wholesale, retail, and other markets.

Jobs and Establishments

Job growth in Vermont's food system-which includes jobs at restaurants, stores, food processing and manufacturing facilities, farm support services, aggregation and distribution services, and jobs on the farm-continues to outperform many other sectors of Vermont's economy. The number of food system jobs increased 10.5% from 2009 to 2015 (6,073 jobs). The number of food manufacturing jobs increased 47% (2,182 jobs), and the growth in food manufacturing jobs came during a time of an overall decrease in the number of manufacturing jobs in Vermont.

Farm Viability


Laughing Child Farm in Pawlet worked with the Farm Viability Program to grow their sweet potato farm and business.

While food system employment and the number of farms increases, evidenced by the increase in farms from 5,828 in 1997 to 7,338 in 2012, the number and total percentage of farms reporting net losses has been on the rise over the same period of time. A little more than half of farm households reported losing money on farm operations in 2012 (both in Vermont and nationally). This makes it crucial for farm viability services providers like UVM Extension and the VHCB Farm and Forest Viability Program to help producers manage operations and decision-making for long term financial sustainability. Technical assistance service providers recently formed the Farm to Plate Farm Viability Indicators Task Force to aggregate and develop standardized information on the viability of business models and scales. These efforts will help inform farmers and producers about best practices and industry benchmarks, diagnose the viability of individual businesses and larger industries as a whole, and provide farms with tools to more thoroughly assess the financial feasibility of new enterprises, current operations, and/or expansions.

The task force works closely with the Farm to Plate Production & Processing Working Group which has been focused over the past year to include farm viability issues in industry events and conferences, expand professional development opportunities for technical service providers, and research farm apprenticeship and internship structures to incorporate into Vermont resources for farmers. The working group is also developing a plan to address supply constraints and scale up the meat industry, building off of the success of the Meat Processing Task Force's efforts to facilitate collaboration between livestock slaughter and processing stakeholder organizations.

Financing

The Farm to Plate Financing Cross-cutting Team provides an opportunity for all types of financial providers along Vermont's capital continuum to network and work on projects together to increase investments in the food system. The Vermont Agricultural Credit Corporation (VACC) reported $25.8 million in loans in 2016 to 235 farmers, food businesses, and forest-product based businesses-more loans than in any previous year. Over the past four years, the Working Lands Enterprise Initiative has made over $2.4 million in grants and leveraged over $5 million in matching and outside funds. In partnership with the Working Lands Enterprise Initiative, VACC is now offering a loan option for dairy farmers transitioning from conventional to organic milk production. Also in 2016, the Vermont Community Loan Fund created a new low-interest, deferred payment loan program, SPROUT, for food system and forest product businesses.

Energy

The energy section of the Farm to Plate Strategic Plan was released this year by the Farm to Plate Energy Cross-cutting Team and is informing how growing farms and food businesses can become more profitable and efficient by minimizing the use of fossil fuels and maximizing the opportunities for renewable energy, energy efficiency, and conservation. The Energy Cross-cutting Team is currently exploring how to improve community, producer, and developer understanding of solar siting on agricultural land and to increase consideration for renewable energy and energy efficiency opportunities among farm viability providers and their clients.