UVM Blogs

Lindsey Ruhl, graduate student at the University of Vermont (UVM) Department of Plant and Soil Science, originally didn’t set out to become a soil scientist. But she now knows the critical links among soil health […]

This is the “conference season” and my busiest time of year. These days, you’ll typically find me beside a display for Northeast SARE (or eOrganic depending on which hat I’m wearing) sharing information about the […]

As a traditional back-to-school activity, my two daughters are writing and drawing about what they did over summer vacation. While their art and prose describe camps, hikes, mommy’s work, and amusement parks, my […]

Francie Caccavo, owner of Olivia’s Croutons. For many farmers, the road to value-added starts with good, abundant production of a commodity and the desire to increase farm revenues by adding value to that commodity through product development. For Francie Caccavo, owner of Olivia’s Croutons, the opposite was true. She started with a high-quality,…[Read more]

If you are curious how croutons are made, pressing oilseeds, growing hops, and/or producing high quality livestock forages, join UVM Extension’s Northwest Crops and Soils Team at a workshop or field day this summer! The team—led by agronomist Heather Darby —recently announced their summer workshop series. The workshops and field days, offered on…[Read more]

On my drive home the other night, I heard a story on APM’s Marketplace Freakonomics Radio about the dearth of patents received by women (only 7.5% of all patents filed). The shortage of patents was connected to the age-old (and sometimes controversial) gender gap in the science and engineering fields. Stephen Dubner (Freakonomics co-author) went…[Read more]

Really. When I think of women’s leadership development, large and lofty ideas come mind—things like paradigm shifts, suffrage and empowerment. So who knew that the kernels of leadership sometimes lie within little kernels of corn and grain which were inspiring enough to chart new life courses for some young women in northern Vermont?! Heather…[Read more]

Do you remember that 80’s tv show, MacGyver? You know, the action-adventure series featuring the clever secret agent Angus MacGyver who never carried a gun but was able to escape every dicey situation purely on wit, science, and common household items, including his trusty duct tape?! If you’re a farmer, I bet these same tools—wit, science, duct…[Read more]