2016 Fall Newsletter Introduction

A Year with the Champlain Valley Crop, Soil & Pasture Team

By Jeff Carter, UVM Ext. Agronomy Specialist

Champlain Valley Crop, Soil & Pasture Team Leader

Farmers and UVM Ext. Professionals discussing new no-till corn at an early summer crop patrol.
Farmers and UVM Ext. Professionals discussing new no-till corn at an early summer crop patrol.

This has been a busy year for our Extension team in Middlebury. I prepared a summary for my boss, and during this past year we offered 72 workshops, conferences, classes and field day events and tallied 8,143 “educational contacts” who came to our programs. Many farmers and ag business members came to more than one event. We also provided 1,873 individual consultations this year for one-on-one education and production technical assistance. I hope you were able to be there. We have several new projects starting this fall and look forward to many more farm demonstrations with new cover crop mixes planted, no-till corn strategies, calcium sulfate (gypsum) and other soil health amendments, reducing compaction in clay soil, actual farm crop budgets and whole-farm mass nutrient balances. This winter will be just as busy with meetings and classes for no-till corn, cover crops and soil health, pasture and grazing, manure applicator training, nutrient management plans, updates on farm environmental laws, and regular meetings of the Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition.

New RAP Law Comes Into Effect this Fall

The rules have changed again for Vermont farmers this fall with the new RAP laws (Required Agriculture Practices) going into effect before the snow flies. Once these rules clear the last legislative hurdle, this will be a dramatic change to meet the demands for cleaner water for the future of Vermont. Not so big news if you have been following the progression of increasing restrictions on how soil and farm nutrients will be kept on the farm and not lost to our lakes and streams. All farmers need to know how this will affect them and the Agency website has all the latest news regarding these new rules for farmers:  http://agriculture.vermont.gov/water-quality/regulations/rap

Have a question for Jeff? He can be reached at 802-388-4969 ext. 332 or jeff.carter@uvm.edu

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