The “Farm Succession Planning Webinar Series” is for farmers to learn about key issues, tools and resources to help them make informed decisions and take action steps towards transferring their farm to the next generation of their family or a non-family successor. Farmers will learn from professionals who can help in the process and from other farmers. Topics include retirement, financial, and estate planning, taxes, legal entities, and determining goals for retirement, business transitions, and your land. All generations, including family and non-family members, who may play a role in your farms future are encouraged to attend.

This series is organized by info for more information.

The New England Fruit Consortium, made up of Extension partners from throughout the region, is hosting an educational webinar series this winter. Topics include: apple thinning; strawberry cultivars; reflective mulches; Japanese beetle management; public relations for farmers; and advanced apple scab management.

Sessions are still shaping up, but the listing and registration information can be found at:
https://ag.umass.edu/fruit/news-events/northeast-extension-fruit-consortium

Please mark your calendars and preregister for any sessions of interest to you.

Please consider attending and sharing information about the Vermont Agency of Agriculture virtual listening session on Monday, 12/18

Vermont Agency of Agriculture holding virtual Listening Session 12/18

When: Monday, 12/18 from 12:30 – 2pm (drop in/out as needed)

Where: Virtual – please register here to receive link

Who: All producers, processors and agricultural-adjacent organizations are encouraged and welcome to attend; legislators have been invited to attend as well

Structure: Agency of Agriculture staff will facilitate conversations around: The 2023 growing season/flooding; needs and priorities for business viability; feedback and input for Agency presence and programming; other items as they arise

Future opportunities: This virtual session is part of a pilot series of opportunities for the Vermont Agency of Agriculture to be more accessible to the agricultural communities and hear their needs, priorities, experiences and feedback. The session on December 18th will be followed by 9 in-person sessions across the state in Jan – March of 2024, co-hosted with some of our non-profit and Natural Resource Conservation District partners. Learn more here!

Can’t make it or want to give feedback? Use this form to share your thoughts, priorities and/or input on how these opportunities could and should be shaped in the future

Questions or feedback? Please reach out to Sarah McIlvennie directly at sarah.mcilvennie or 802-261-5866

Thanks,

Abbey

Abbey Willard (she/her)

Agricultural Development Division Director | Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets

116 State St., Montpelier Vermont 05620 | http://agriculture.vermont.gov

Tel:802-272-2885 |

Access Flooding Disaster Response and Recovery Resources for Agriculture.

Sign up to receive our weekly Ag Development e-newsletter updates on marketing opportunity, events and grants!

In the past year, the UVM Fruit Program completed a redesign of its website as part of the UVM Commercial Horticulture site reorganization. The funding for that work is wrapping up and we will report changes in grower satisfaction in our final project grant report. Please complete this short survey at your earliest convenience:

https://go.uvm.edu/23uvmfruitsurvey

In a twist of institutional planned obsolescence, please ignore the odd urls on the site that begin with legacy.drup2.uvm.edu, as the university overall is in the process of a full site redesign. That will affect top-level content (the UVM banner and search boxes at the top) but our site should remain unchanged after they complete that work.

Thanks so much and we wish everyone happy and restful holiday season.

Best,

Terry

Wednesday, Dec. 13: Business Planning for Agritourism Enterprises
with Lisa Chase and Zachary Smith of University of Vermont Extension

Business planning is critical for any type of enterprise, and agritourism is no exception. Hosted by Vermont Fresh Network and University of Vermont Extension, this webinar will cover key steps for business planning and introduce you to a new online tool. In this webinar, we’ll provide a general overview of business planning for agritourism, and we’ll share resources and next steps. For farms in Vermont, we’ll let you know how to receive one-on-one support and guidance for your agritourism business plan. We’ll also discuss an online training series open to all that will take place in February and March for those who would like to develop a business plan this winter with guidance from Extension business planning experts. To request a disability-related accommodation to participate in this program, please contact Amber Hunt at 802-656-7530 or Amber.Hunt so we may assist you.
Register here

We’ll be posting the videos of the last two webinars, and will be sharing those with you all.

-Tara

Tara Pereira (she/her)

Vermont Fresh Network

Executive Director

tara

o:802-434-2000

c:802-999-6137

www.vermontfresh.net

www.diginvt.com

Want to discover new food and farm adventures? Visit diginvt.com for events, trails, place profiles, and feature articles!

DigInVT is a program managed by the Vermont Fresh Network