–RAW MILK bill is moving – CALL NOW!
–Current Use Program in Jeopardy! – ACTION Needed!
–Rural Vermont ANNUAL MEETING – WEDNESDAY NIGHT!
–Other Rural Vermont Events
–Other Upcoming Events
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RAW MILK BILL IS MOVING!
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Thank You to all who wrote cards to the House Agriculture Committee – THEY REALLY HELPED! The Committee has passed the Raw Milk Bill today! The bill is moving quickly to the House Floor and WE NEED YOUR HELP!
The bill as the Agriculture Committee passed it allows farmers to sell up to 40 gallons of raw milk every day, and allows farmers to deliver milk to customer’s homes. It sets reasonable and basic sanitary standards for farmers to follow. It sets up a tiered system, where farmers selling less than 50 quarts/day have a little less regulation and farmers selling 50 quarts – 40 gallons have a little more. We’ll post the bill on our website (www.ruralvermont.org) as soon as it is available. Meanwhile, please CALL YOUR HOUSE REPS TODAY and ask them to support the bill as the Ag Committee passed it!
TAKE ACTION: Please CALL your House Representative(s) TODAY or WEDNESDAY. Call 802-828-2228 and leave a message for your House Rep(s). The person who answers the phone can tell you who your rep is if you don’t know. Leave a message saying “please support the raw milk bill – H. 125″ with your name and phone number. We need a good strong vote to keep this bill moving.
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CURRENT USE PROGRAM IN TROUBLE
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In an effort to raise revenues, the Senate has put forth a proposal in the Tax Bill to “cap” the Current Use program (or Use Value Appraisal) at $4000. This means that if your land is in current use, and the land is appraised at more than $4000/acre, then you have to pay the regular tax rate on the difference (between the appraised value and the $4000). This proposal signals a fundamental shift in land use policy and threatens our working landscape. Many farmers and foresters work land that would be very valuable if sold for development – the Current Use Program is a fair tax program to ensure that Vermonters can afford to work the land. We all benefit because we enjoy the farms and forests around us. The proposal would put an undue burden on our farmers and foresters, significantly change our land use policy, and threaten our working landscape – and, it won’t even come close to filling the hole in the budget. If you value our working landscape and our Current Use Program, PLEASE MAKE TWO CALLS THIS WEEK. The Conference Committee is already meeting, and we need to get our message in to the leadership.
ACTION FOR CURRENT USE: Please call House Speaker Shap Smith and Senate President Pro Tem Peter Shumlin and tell them, “Don’t Cap Current Use!” Remember – MAKE BOTH CALLS!
1) Call Speaker Smith at 802-828-2245 and leave a message with your name, town, and the message, “Don’t Cap Current Use!”
2) Call Senator Shumlin at 802-828-3806 and leave a message with your name, town, and the message, “Don’t Cap Current Use!”
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RURAL VERMONT ANNUAL MEETING
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~COME TO THE ANNUAL MEETING FOR UP-TO-THE-MINUTE UPDATES ON ALL OF OUR BILLS!~
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
6:30 – 9 pm
Capital City Grange Gall
Northfield Rd. (Rt 12)
MONTPELIER
Free for Rural Vermont members
$10 everybody else
(bring a finger food potluck dish and some extra cash for the chance auction)
Come out and celebrate the progress Rural Vermont has made in pursuit of our Vision for Food with Dignity! Catch up with old friends, and meet new ones! Also – legislative updates, board elections, awards ceremony, finger food potluck, and chance auction.
Keynote speaker: KARL HAMMER of Vermont Compost Company has been working closely with Rural Vermont as we advocate for reasonable, scale-appropriate regulations for composters. Karl’s visionary business model is an inspiration to progressive agriculture! For more info or to join before the meeting, call Rural Vermont at (802) 223-7222 or visit www.ruralvermont.org.
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UPCOMING RURAL VERMONT EVENTS
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***FILM SCREENING WITH RURAL VERMONT!***
*Hemp and the Rule of Law*
Thursday, April 30th, 6:30 pm – 8 pm
Upper Valley Co-op, WHITE RIVER JNCTN
*** BEYOND MILK! Raw Dairy Processing Classes ***
Learn how to make cheese, butter, yogurt, and ice cream from raw milk in your kitchen!
–CLASS IS FULL – CALL 223-7222 TO GET ON THE WAITING LIST–
*Butter, Yogurt & Cream Cheese with Adam Wilson”
Sunday, May 3rd / 1 – 4 pm
Essex Creamery, Essex Junction / $30-40 sliding scale
Pre-registration is required. Proceeds benefit Rural Vermont.
** Save the date: TOUR DE FARMS 2009 – Sunday, September 20th **
Rural Vermont partners with the Vermont Bicycle & Pedestrian Coalition and ACoRN to bring the Tour de Farms back to Addison County! Stay tuned for more details.
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OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS
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**THE POST OIL HOMESTEAD: SKILLS FOR THE TRANSITION**
Mon, April 27; 6 pm; Kellogg Hubbard Library, 135 Main St, Montpelier. Permaculturalist Ben Falk highlights skills and tools needed to develop and evolve sustaining homestead and small farm systems fit for the solar age, including: soil building, perennial crop establishment, water capture and storage, fertility cycling, fungi, forestry, and infrastructure. Sponsored by Transition Town Montpelier. Info: Annie McCleary, 456-8122, transitiontownmontpelier@gmail.com.
**FILM: Consuming Kids: The Commercialization of Childhood**
Wednesday, April 29th, 7:00 The film takes a close look at the effects such marketing is having on children today. Marlboro College Technology Center in Brattleboro. Donations accepted. (802) 258-2402. Know Media.
**Healthcare is a Human Right Rally**
Friday, May 1st
12 noon
Vermont Statehouse, Montpelier
Join Vermonters from every corner of the state to demand healthcare as a basic human right for everybody. Invited speakers include Senator Bernie Sanders, Dr. Deb Richter, and there will be musical performances, street theater, giant puppets and even a Dump-the-Insurance-Companies-Dunk-Tank . Don’t miss it and help us build a movement to make healthcare a public good for everybody. Learn more at workerscenter.org/healthcare or call 861-2877.
**Vermont Farm Women’s Fund Exhibit**
Studio Place Arts on Friday, May 1, 5:30-7:30 PM to celebrate an exhibit of spectacular photographs by Peter Miller, “Vermont Farm Women.” www.PeterMillerPhotography.com
This exhibit has been created to build support and awareness for The Vermont Farm Women’s Fund http://www.uvm.edu/~bholtzma/VFWF/ The fund is dedicated to increasing awareness and appreciation for the women who have worked and do work diligently to sustain Vermont’s working landscape. The Vermont Farm Women’s fund provides resources to allow farm women to achieve their vision and goals in supporting the stewardship of the land and sustaining healthy communities.
Exhibit Dates: April 28 – June 6, 2009
Studio Place Arts, 201 N Main St., Barre, VT (802) 479-7069
**Urban Chicken Keeping and ‘Chicken Chariot’ Design / Build Workshop**
May 2-3, 2009
10am- 5pm
Johnson, VT
Join us for a weekend workshop on chicken care, carpentry skill building, and learning how to design and build with salvage materials. Led by Loppy, Biggie, and Fresno (our chickens) and their keepers Keith Morris and Kori Gelinas. $50/ day $80 both days, camping space available. No one will be refused for lack of funds. Pre-registration
is required, space is limited. To register, or for more information, please email earthsurfing@yahoo.com, or call (802) 734-1129.
**SPRING FORAGING: TWO WORKSHOPS**
WHEN: Saturday, May 2 and Saturday, May 9, 1 – 5 PM – rain or shine
(unless downpour)
WHERE: location to be sent to registrants (Upper Valley)
FEE: $20 co-op member; $22 non-member; limit 15
Upper Valley Food Co-op will host two spring foraging walks, Saturday May 2 and Saturday May 9, from 1 – 5 pm. There will be a cooking and tasting session after the walk. Participants should dress comfortably for moderate hiking in woodsy terrain, and bring a knife and plastic bags for collecting. Rain or shine. Cost is $20 for co-op members, $22 for non-members. Space is limited, advance reservations are required.
For more information, call the Co-op at 802-295-5804.
**Putting in a Water system for Plants and Livestock**
Osprey Hill Farm, Putnamville, VT
Water is a critical need for plants and animals, and often a time consuming chore for farmers. Installation of a watering and/or irrigation system is a good place to improve efficiency. Farmer Kimberly Hagen applied to USDA-NRCS and received AMA cost share funds this past year to install a very basic system utilizing a good flowing brook on her property to bring water to both her berry plants and her rotationally-grazed livestock. In this very hands-on workshop, participants will learn about all the pipes, hoses, clamps, valves, screens, flow rates, irrigation equipment and system design. **Attendees are encouraged to dress for the weather, with boots. As this is hands-on workshop and will include system assembly, tools such as adjustable wrenches, vise grips, shovels and work gloves are encouraged.** Contact: Jenn Colby, UVM Center for Sustainable Agriculture, (802) 656-0858, jcolby@uvm.edu COST: FREE, RSVP requested for planning purposes. Workshop co-sponsored by USDA-NRCS, VT Grass Farmers Association, NOFA-VT, and the UVM Center for Sustainable Agriculture.
**AMDCA Annual Meeting, Tunbridge, VT**
The Annual Meeting of the American Milking Devon Cattle Association will be on Saturday, May 9, 2009. It will be held at the Town Hall in Tunbridge, Vermont. Members/breeders of Milking Devons and people interested in the breed and/or supporting the Association are invited to attend. For more info, see; http://www.nefood.org/events/amdca-annual-meeting
**Summit on the Future of Vermont**
May 11, 2009, 9am to 5pm
UVM’s Dudley Davis Center, Burlington, Vermont
$40 Summit and Lunch; open to the public. The Vermont Council on Rural Development (VCRD) invites you to join us, and hundreds of Vermonters, at the Summit on the Future of Vermont. The Summit will unveil the findings of the Council on the Future of Vermont’s ubiquitous statewide conversation on the values, goals, and priorities of Vermonters as they look to address the challenges and opportunities ahead.
For Information about the Events:
http://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Summary.aspx?e=30b27f82-542d-4b77-8f8b-a3eab16c03bf
To Register: https://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Register/IdentityConfirmation.aspx?e=30b27f82-542d-4b77-8f8b-a3eab16c03bf
**All About NE-SARE Grants**
May 20, 2009
10 am to 12 noon
017 Hills Building, University of Vermont
Burlington, Vermont
This training is designed for members of the University and Vermont agriculture communities interested in learning more about the grant programs offered by the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program (NE-SARE). NE-SARE staff will describe grants offered on two different tiers: large, multi-year projects (typically funded for between $50,000 and $200,000) and smaller, shorter-term projects with budgets of $25,000 or less. The two funding tiers have different application requirements and, in some cases, different eligibility requirements. This training will help you decide which grant is best for you. We will also give an update on NE-SARE’s new activities, including the graduate student grants program. The training is free-of-charge and morning refreshments will be offered. To attend the workshop, please register at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=AuXZQGo68Vs8Uy_2buZR_2bvfQ_3d_3d or email Debra Heleba at debra.heleba@uvm.edu.
**Homeopathy in the Barn**
Saturday, May 23, 2009 Vermont Grand View Farm
Washington, VT 802-685-4693
10am-1pm
$25/person must be paid in advance and $10/additional person from same farm, space is limited. Bring a bag lunch and your questions! We will hold this workshop outside so please come with appropriate clothing and clean boots. We are now taking registrations. Preregistration and prepayment is required to attend this workshop! 802-685-4693 or email kimgoodling@yahoo.com
**FOOD DIALOGS Moving the Discussion beyond the Pyramid**
An experiential learning, writing and critical thinking workshop for advocates, educators and change agents in the Food System
June 9-13, 2009
Montgomery Village (Jay Peak), VT
This program is a dialog, an immersion and a platform for critical thinking around the bright future of food and food education. CPE: 24 RD/DTR CHES pending. Price: $695 all sessions, tours, breakfasts, breaks, two dinners + culinary evening and foraging + lunch. Post Workshop Tour: Biking in VT and Eastern Townships, Quebec.
Download program: http://fieldtoplate.com/workshops and select Food Dialogs
Information: richelle@fieldtoplate.com or inquiry@fieldtoplate.com Tel: 240 422 5072
**Burlington Permaculture Design Certification Course**
Ecological Culture: Design for Transition
June 14-26
Bishop Booth Conference Center, Rock Point, Burlington, VT
Instructors: Keith Morris, Mark Krawczyk, Michael Blazewicz, Chris Jackson, Alyssa White, and many special guests.
Cost: $1200 including lodging and local meals. (College credit may incur additional fee) Contact: Burlington Permaculture http://burlingtonpermaculture.googlepages.com/ or (802) 999-2768 or burlingtonpermaculture@gmail.com
October 17 & 18, 2009
2009 Northeast Animal Power Field Days
Tunbridge Fair Grounds, Tunbridge, VT
Dedicated to working draft animals in enterprises that support sustainability of local communities and vital land-based economies, this two-day trade fair and conference will feature workshops, equipment demonstrations, working demos, exhibitors, local food, swap meet, and more. Join the free on-line discussion list: www.draftanimalpower.com. Interested in Volunteering? Please contact Kristen Gage at kristengage@comcast.net or call 802-431-1029. For more information, contact Carl Russell or Lisa McCrory at: info@animalpowerfielddays.org or call: 802-234-5524. Visit the website for program updates: www.animalpowerfielddays.org.
There’s a brand new venue out there for Vermont farmers and crafters to sell their products! In these times we need all the exposure we can get. It’s a new web site at www.vermontmarketbasket.com, and it is only for Vermont residents and Vermont products. Two great things about this new site are that it doesn’t cost the vendors anything until they sell something. There are no sign up fees or monthly fees, just a 20% commission paid at the time of the sale. Also, the vendor is not required to have credit card processing; the web site takes care of the credit card processing and expense. Because it is a brand new site, Vermont Market Basket is looking for new vendors of quality Vermont products. There are 22 catalog categories for products, including meat, eggs, seeds, body products, farm crafts, soaps, syrups, and many others. The webmaster is a Vermont farmer herself. Contact Karen Skrill at 802-728-5814 o
r email her through the web site at www.vermontmarketbasket.com.