UVM Blogs

Editor’s Note: This week’s blog post, from UVM Extension community forestry educator Caitlin Cusack, provides practical information about ways landowners and farmers can mitigate the impact of emerald ash borer on […]

Editor’s note: This week’s WAgN blog shares observations from outgoing USDA Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan on the status of women in agriculture.  “There is serious momentum behind women in agriculture,” […]

Are you considering adding value added products to your mix at the farmers market, your farm stand or CSA pick-up? Join The UVM New Farmer Project’s  April 23 webinar on Creating Products from Farm Produce to […]

Learn about transitioning to a commercial goat dairy at UVM Extension New Farmer Project Webinar tonight at 7 pm with Carol Delaney, author of A Guide to Starting a Commercial Goat Dairy. Topics include: livestock […]

Deadline: February 7, 2013
The Vermont Farm Women’s Fund (VFWF) is accepting proposals for its next round of grants to help women farmers improve their businesses or participate in agricultural policy […]

February 4 is deadline for submitting your information to the USDA Census of Agriculture — the only source of uniform, comprehensive and impartial agricultural data for every county in the nation.

Conducted […]

Make this the year you bravely step into the world of farm finances!  With three top-notch ag financial management specialist to lead the way, Intro to Ag Financial Management  will help you approach farm finances […]

Thanks to farmer Mimi Arnstein f0r letting us know about two exciting opportunities for Vermont farmers to share knowledge with farmers in El Salvador and Cuba in January or February of 2013.

NOFA-VT seeks […]

The Senate version of  the 2012 Farm Bill was finally passed on June 21, with votes on 73 of 200 proposed amendments. Despite the $6.7 billion cut to conservation programs and a $4.5 billion cut to SNAP over the next 10 years, Senate leadership was pleased with the bi-partisan cooperation. Editor’s Note: Read on for a quick update [...]

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is preparing to mail the 2012 Census of Agriculture to millions of U.S. farmers and ranchers later this year, and July 1 is the deadline to sign up to receive a census form. The Census of Agriculture is a complete count of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who [...]

With farmstands opening and farmers markets starting this month, it’s also time to start reporting your produce prices to UVM Extension’s bi-weekly, direct market farm price report .  The goal of the reporting system is to help direct marketing farmers share information about what they charge at direct markets (farmstands, farmers’ markets, etc)…[Read more]

Our colleagues at the UVM Extension Northwest Crops and Soils Tea are helping to host two great conferences in March: 8th Annual Vermont Grain Growers Conference – March 15, 2012, The Essex Resort and Spa, Essex, VT, uvm.edu/extension/grainconference. The theme for the daylong event–offered in collaboration with the Northern Grain Growers…[Read more]

This space will be for farmers to share stories, insights and ask questions.

The UVM Extension New Farmer Project  and Women’s Ag Network  are seeking three experienced farmers to serve as paid mentors  to participants in our upcoming Whole Farm Planning for Begin ning Women Farmers  class. The 10-session course will be offered at  Shelburne Farms  in Shelburne, VT beginning this January. The mentoring positions offer a…[Read more]

Reserve your seat now to ride with other Vermonters to the 2011 Women in Sustainable Agriculture Conference, which will be held in State College, PA, on November 6-8, 2011. WAgN is making plans to bring a busload — literally — of Vermonters to  the event, which will bring together farmers, growers, educators, agricultural professionals, and…[Read more]

State and federal agriculture officials are urging all Vermont farmers who sustained damage from tropical storm Irene to contact their county USDA office to report the damage. “Vermont farmers of all types, sizes and management methods, both organic and conventional—dairy, vegetable, livestock, orchard, crop, maple, diversified—who sustained…[Read more]

This just in from the Vermont office of the USDA-Natural Resource Conservation Service : The Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) in Vermont has extended its deadline to October 1, 2011 to apply to conservation programs including the Agricultural Management Assistance (AMA) program, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), the…[Read more]

Vern Grubinger, UVM Extension Vegetable and Berry Specialist, posted this request via email. Following, Vern’s email is information from Ginger Nickerson, UVM Extension’s GAPS specialist, on rules, regs, and best practices for handling flood damaged produce. Dear Vermont growers, I’m sorry that so many of you have had crop and infrastructure…[Read more]

 September 1, 2011 Update from Jenna Tofferi, Staff Assistant to Senator Patrick Leahy:

Due to concerns that a number of Vermont constituents could not attend the conference because of the timing on a holiday weekend, and the recent devastation left behind by Hurricane Irene,  Senator Leahy has decided to postpone the conference until a later…

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USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) officials have asked WAgN to help get the word out to farmers and landowners that USDA has established a process to resolve claims of Hispanic and women farmers and ranchers who assert that they were discriminated against when seeking USDA farm loans. The process is part of continued efforts to [...]

Kudos to WAgN Participant Lisa Ransom on receiving a $10,000 Vermont  Farm Viability Program grant to transition to Aerated Static Pile Mangement at  Grow Compost in Moretown. Grow Compost began in 2009, using municipal and agricultural waste to produce compost on their farm. Owners Lisa Ransom and Scott Baughman said they will use the Farm…[Read more]

The Vermont Agency of Agriculture’s Farm Agronomic Practices (FAP) Program is accepting applications for support for winter cover cropping for the fall of 2011. Applications are due August 1 for maximum funding. FAP is  also accepting applications for additional practices that will be implemented July 1, 2011 – December 15, 2011. The practices…[Read more]

Vermont Emergency Management (VEM) is requesting that farmers of all types report damage to all parts of their property in the following manner so that impact info can be included in justifications for emergency declarations that are sent to the Governor and then to the President: If there is damage to your house(s) or other dwelling [...]

If you’ve lost crops or been unable to plant due to this spring’s record rainfall and flooding and you have crop insurance, now’s the time to contact your crop insurance agent, says Pam Smith, crop insurance coordinator for University of Vermont Extension. Producers who participate in USDA-Farm Service Agency (USDA-FSA) programs also should report…[Read more]

WAgN is one of 30 organizations participating in a historic summit aimed at changing the face of leadership in sustainable agriculture. The three-day “Cultivate 2012″ event will engage 30 leading women activists, thinkers, policy-makers and organizers in an effort to discuss national food security issues and provide cohesive strategies for…[Read more]

Our colleague Rachel Gilker at the Vermont Pasture Network is offering an unusual opportunity to learn how to use animals to reduce your weed load. Calling livestock farmers coping with weed challenges in northeastern, northwestern or southern VT: The opportunity has opened up for several grazing-livestock farms to participate in on-farm training…[Read more]

Learn to use and maintain chainsaws safely in a series of workshops coordinated by the UVM Extension New Farmer Project and the Women’s Ag Network .  Workshop instructor Jessica Ricketson is an experienced sawyer who regularly trains trail crews and students on the safe use of chainsaws in the field.  These workshops emphasize hands-on…[Read more]

The USDA recently took steps to resolve a long history of alleged discrimination against women and hispanic farmers. Two court cases– Garcia vs. Vilsack and Love vs. Vilsack allege that USDA improperly denied women and Hispanic farmers farm loan benefits. Now, in an effort to provide relief, the USDA has created a process to resolve [...]

Join the Women’s Agricultural Network and Vermont Farm Women’s Fund at the opening reception of an exhibit of Peter Miller’s Vermont Farm Women photographs on Saturday, March 12 from 11-1 at the Basement Gallery at the Fairfield Municipal Building. These beautiful black and white photographs are a tribute both to Vermont’s agrarian heritage and…[Read more]

Are you a member of a board or steering committee of a farmer, consumer or commodity organization?  Are you responsible for facilitating the work of a board? Does the board function well? Could it do better? If you answered yes to any of these questions, we hope you’ll join Tara Kelly , Executive Director of the Rutland Area Farm [...]

Around the world—from Vermont to Mali—women are leading efforts to find and implement positive solutions to complex challenges related to food security and agriculture. WAgN is partnering with Oxfam America to raise awareness about these issues and to celebrate the courageous role of women in making food system change. These solutions include…[Read more]

A course starting in December 2010 will provide both new and experienced farmers with the tools to develop agricultural business plans to start or grow their businesses. “Building a Sustainable Business” will be offered in three locations – Rutland, St. Johnsbury, and Berlin, Vermont. The course is designed for farmers who are thinking about a new [...]

Save the date and spread the word! The 2010 Women in Sustainable Agriculture Conference will be held in at the  Lake Morey Resort in Fairlee, Vt., Nov. 1-3, 2010. Women’s Agricultural Network chapters from Vermont, Maine, Connecticut and Pennsylvania are working with other nonprofit organizations, Extension and other agencies to put together two…[Read more]