Vermont Food System News

JULY 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:

Protect and Expand Affordable and Environmentally Sustainable Farmland in Agricultural Production

Access to affordable and environmentally sustainable farmland is imperative to increase our local food supply and grow our agricultural economy. The Farm to Plate Network is creating strategic partnerships and tools to address a continuum of farmland access issues including farm succession planning, farmland conservation, and farmland investment, leasing, and matchmaking. The Network is also working to improve soil and water quality through research, monitoring, information sharing, and training.

Rural Enterprises


Mighty Food Farm works with Vermont Land Trust to purchase permanent affordable farmland. Read more...

As Vermont farms continue to diversify their business operations and create on-farm enterprises such as farm cafes, wedding and event spaces, and value-added processing, these business activities often fall into a regulatory grey area that can create uncertainty for farmers, community members, and municipal officials. Regulatory issues for rural enterprises have been addressed in resources like the Local Regulatory Context module created by the Farm to Plate Agricultural Land Use Planning Task Force, and Rural Enterprise Resources developed by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, food & Markets, NOFA-VT, Vermont Natural Resources Council, Shelburne Farms, and the Farm-Based Education Network, but there's still more work to be done to either clarify or change regulations and create more certainty for farmers looking to start innovative enterprises on farm. The Farm to Plate Farmland Access and Stewardship Working Group is developing ways to improve outreach on current regulations by inventorying available resources and common questions, with members also exploring how to support passage of statewide rural enterprise legislation that could create greater clarity for farmers and help stimulate more economic activity on farms.

More Farmland Access and Farm Transfer Tools Available to Farmers

The Farm to Plate Farmland Access Task Force completed a redesign to the Vermont Land Link website, the online hub that helps connect farmers with available farmland. The website now allows farm seekers to post profiles of themselves so landowners can find a farmer whose needs match their property. The site is also now responsive for mobile users, and has undergone overall improvements to the look and interface of the website. Farmland Access Task Force members will be working with farmers to create model profiles in the coming months that will help landowners better identify prospective matches for their property.

Along with update and redesign of Land Link, The Farm Transfer Network of New England (FTNNE)-which Farmland Access Task Force members participate in-has relaunched their website farmtransfernewengland.org, which provides a place for farmers to get farm succession resources and help from a network of farm service providers in New England. FTNNE also provides technical assistance providers with professional development workshops and trainings about farm transfer and farm tenure, along with technical articles, bulletins and legal analysis to support their work in farm succession and transfer planning.

Universal Recycling Resources Website for Food System Organizations under Development

The Farm to Plate Food Cycle Coalition is building on resources originally developed by the Highfields Center for Composting (Highfields dissolved in 2014), expanding on them to include information and education about each element of the Vermont Food Recovery Hierarchy (source reduction, food rescue, feed for animals, and composting and anaerobic digestion). The vision for the website is to become a resource for food system stakeholders who have an opportunity to capitalize on or assist with implementation of the Universal Recycling law: farmers, haulers, restaurants, food rescue organizations, and residents, as well as those outside of Vermont who are learning from the state's implementation efforts. The resources that were created by the Highfields Center will be preserved in a rebranded format, and augmented with additional content and links to other relevant websites and resources.