Meet Your Champlain Valley Crop, Soil and Pasture Team!

UVM EXTENSION-MIDDLEBURY

CHAMPLAIN VALLEY CROP SOIL & PASTURE TEAM

23 Pond Lane, Suite 300 | Middlebury, VT 05753

www.uvm.edu/extension/agriculture/cvcrops

(802) 388-4969 | champlain.crops@uvm.edu

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JEFFREY CARTER
Agronomy Specialist: Field Crops & Nutrient Management
Jeff.carter@uvm.edu
(802) 388-4969 ext. 332

Jeff Carter has worked with farmers all around Vermont regarding crop production including corn, alfalfa, pasture, Christmas trees and wildlife food plots. For 27 years he has provided information on using fertilizer, manure and pesticides; how to grow crops and take care of the soil and; nutrient management planning to meet farm regulations. Jeff works with commercial farmers, backyard growers and public officials to promote agriculture.

As a UVM Extension Faculty member, Jeff leads the Team out of the Middlebury Extension office.  He procures grant funding, provides direction for the team and is the foundation for the work the team does to serve the needs of agricultural producers in the Champlain Valley and beyond.

See Jeff’s Faculty Profile HERE.

RICO BALZANO
Agronomy Outreach Professional
Rico.balzano@uvm.edu
(802) 388-4969 x338

Rico Balzano  grew up in New Jersey and attended Rutgers University where he earned a bachelor of science degree in plant sciences. For two summers during college, he worked for Rutgers Cooperative Extension as a fruit and vegetable integrated pest management scout. Since graduation, Balzano has worked for a number of commercial agricultural enterprises, including apple and peach orchards, a wine grape vineyard and an organic vegetable farm. He also spent two years as an agricultural technician in New York City’s watershed working with dairy and livestock farmers to reduce nutrient levels in the drinking water supply. Rico is part of the Agronomy Conservation Assistance Program (ACAP), assisting farmers in the central portion of the Lake Champlain Basin.  He helps administer the Livestock Exclusion cost-share program, assists farms with Nutrient Management Planning, manages the AerWay aerator that is available to farmers, assists with the No Till Drill project, and is the team’s mapping/GIS expert.

Rico, his wife, and their young son live and farm in Wells, VT.

KIRSTEN WORKMAN
Agronomy Outreach Professional
kirsten.workman@uvm.edu
(802) 388-4969 ext. 347

Kirsten works with farmers to implement practices to improve crop production and protect water quality. She started her career in Washington State working for the Mason Conservation District and Washington State University Extension. After 10 years of working with West Coast farmers, she joined the UVM Extension staff in 2011, and hopes to provide practical information that farmers value. She helps farmers understand the importance of Nutrient Management and assists them in preparing and implementing comprehensive nutrient management plans. She also helps farmers access cost-share funding to implement Best Management Practices on their farms. Kirsten manages the Team’s monthly e-newsletter, Facebook page, YouTube channel, and this website.

Kirsten lives in the Winooski watershed with her husband and two young children, Johnny & Ruby. She enjoys exploring her new home state of Vermont with her family and is excited to have access to some prime Vermont farmland, where she can get some larger livestock than she was able to raise in the temperate rainforest of Washington State.

CHERYL CESARIO
Grazing Outreach Professional
Cheryl.cesario@uvm.edu
(802) 388-4969 x346

Cheryl is the team’s resident grazing expert.  She works with farmers to get the most out their pastures…balancing the needs of people, plants, animals, and water quality.  She prepares grazing plans for beef, dairy and other livestock producers, setting up these farms to be as profitable as possible while utilizing one of Vermont’s best crops…Pasture!

Before joining UVM Extension as a Grazing Outreach Professional, Cheryl spent eight years with the Vermont Organic Farmers (VOF) certification program (part of NOFA-VT) and graduated with a degree in Animal Science from the University of New Hampshire and a Master’s degree from the University of Vermont in Plant and Soil Science. Her agricultural experiences include vegetable farm and greenhouse management, seasonal orchard work, and relief milking on dairy farms.

She and her husband Marc graze cows, pigs and chickens at their farm, Meeting Place Pastures, in Cornwall, VT.  They direct market their meat and eggs to families and restaurants across New England.

JENNIFER ALEXANDER
Agronomy Outreach Professional – Poultney-Mettowee Natural Resource Conservation District
Jad0403@yahoo.com
(802) 287-2250

Jennifer grew up on a small dairy farm in Hampton NY. She graduated from Castleton State with a Bachelors of Arts degree in Natural Science and a minor in Business. She has 17 years experience in customer service and 12 yrs experience in the horticultural industry and is currently manages a 1/2 acre garden with roadside stand with plans to expand. Jennifer has also worked for the Agency of Natural Resources in the Water Quality Department and has been employed by the Poultney Mettowee Natural Resource Conservation District since 2005 assisting farmers with nutrient management and water quality issues.

JUSTIN BROUILLARD
Agronomy Technician
Justin.brouillard@uvm.edu
(802) 388-4969

Justin works for UVM Extension during the summer as a student intern from Vermont Technical College. He is a Civil and Environmental Engineering major, as well as his bachelors program in Sustainable Design and Technology. He is not new to farming, as he has worked on farms in his home watershed of the Connecticut River in Rochester, VT.  Justin has been working with farmers doing soil sampling as well as monitoring the No-Till Drills (you’ve probably seen him pulling them around Addison & Rutland counties…or behind the wheel of the tractor in a farmer’s field).

In his free time, when he isn’t working or attending school, you’ll find Justin behind the wheel of his boat…fishing competitively in Vermont and beyond.