Welcome to growing vegetables and/or berries in Vermont, I’m glad to know you will be farming here. Here are some resources for commercial growers that you should know about. If you have specific questions, members of the UVM Extension Commercial Horticulture Team are available to provide information, guidance, and/or referrals by email or phone.
The Vermont Vegetable and Berry Grower News is a monthly e-newsletter distributed free of charge. It features “reports from the field” that are sent in by growers across the state and the region, commenting on growing conditions, pests, markets, innovations, etc. All past issues are at: http://www.uvm.edu/vtvegandberry/newsletter/datenavbar.htm.
Send me an email if you would like to be added to the subscriber list, vernon.grubinger@uvm.edu.
The Vermont Vegetable and Berry Grower Association (VVBGA) has ~400 farm members, mostly in Vermont but also in nearby states. Membership dues are $75 per farm, per calendar year. If that payment is a hardship, you can select a reduced fee, no questions asked.
VVBGA member farms have access to the VVBGA web site that offers the Community Accreditation for Produce Safety (CAPS) program, Soil Health planning and recordkeeping (this helps with RAPS, required agricultural practices, compliance) a Pollinator Support planning tool and recordkeeping tool, and a Pick-Your-Own marketing platform.
VVBGA member benefits include access to our listserv with over 1,000 farmers and service providers. The listserv is for asking and answering questions directly related to farming, and buying and selling equipment, plants, etc. The VVBGA also offers an Annual Meeting in late January, a winter webinar series, and on-farm workshops in collaboration with UVM Extension.
Members of the VVBGA get meeting event registration discounts.
The UVM Extension Commercial Horticulture web site contains links to information on crop production, business management, equipment and supplies, meetings, pest management, regulations, and much more.
The New England Vegetable Management Guide and the New England Small Fruit Management Guide are produced by Extension personnel and updated often for the latest on crop production. These guides provide detailed information on insect, disease and weed management for conventional and organic growers.
The UVM Plant Diagnostic Clinic, run by Dr. Ann Hazelrigg, ann.hazelrigg@uvm.edu accepts images by email and/or plant samples by mail to identify insect or disease problems. Dr. Margaret Skinner, margaret.skinner@uvm.edu is our Extension Entomologist can provide insect
pest identification, and she works closely with Ann. This valuable service is free of charge for commercial growers, see:
The UVM Extension Agricultural and Environmental Testing Lab offers many kinds of soil testing at low cost, including standard soil tests for vegetable crops at $17 per sample tested, see: For high tunnel soil tests, please use the University of Maine Soil Testing Lab and select the long term high tunnel soil test, $30 per sample. We work closely with that lab. Dr. Becky Maden, UVM Extension vegetable nutrient management specialist can help you interpret
recommendations, rebecca.maden@uvm.edu.
The UVM Extension Agricultural Engineering program, run by Chris Callahan
chris.callahan@uvm.edu has a wealth of information for growers seeking technical guidance, with a focus on protected culture (high tunnels primarily), post-harvest engineering (packsheds and more) and renewable energy.
UVM Extension offers many more programs and services that may be of use to you. These include the Agricultural Business Management program, and the New Farmer project. UVM also has the Vermont Entomology and Participatory Action Research Team which focuses on vegetable insect pests.
Many other agencies and organizations offer support for commercial growers, too. These include the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets produce program, the Northeast Organic Farmers of Vermont (NOFA-VT), the Intervale Center, the Vermont Farm and Forest Viability program, Vermont Farm to Plate, the Vermont Land Trust, and the Vermont Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) of USDA. There are many others, too numerous to list.
Feel free to contact me with questions or requests for information! I look forward to working with you and will be happy to visit the farm when it makes sense to do so. Email is best at vernon.grubinger@uvm.edu or phone (802) 656-7534
Revised April 2025