–Happy Holidays – Great Last Minute Gifts from Rural Vermont!
–Get Ready for the Year of Agriculture! We’ll need YOUR help!
–Upcoming Events
HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM RURAL VERMONT
Best wishes to you and yours during the holiday season! THANK YOU for all you
have done in the past year to build local food systems, support family farmers,
and work toward our vision of Food with Dignity. We look forward to another
year of working with you. If you are struggling to find the perfect holiday
gift, please consider our awesome LOCAL FOODS COOKBOOK ($15), which features
recipes from Vermonters, with mostly local ingredients. It’s a great book, and
many of us have been cooking and eating the yummy recipes for a few weeks.
Also, please consider our new BUMPER STICKERS ($1/each + $.50 shipping and
handling if we mail it to you). We have 2 new stickers – one that says Food
with Dignity and one that says Power to the Farmers – both with the Rural
Vermont cow logo. You can order the Cookbook and Bumperstickers by contacting
Colin at colin@ruralvermont.org or 802-223-7222. Supplies are limited, so order
today!
THE YEAR OF AGRICULTURE – 2008
We want to make 2008 the Year of Agriculture in the Vermont statehouse – the
year that significant policy changes shifted us toward our vision – will you
help us? We’ll need your ACTION and your FINANCIAL SUPPORT to make it all
happen. You probably received a letter in the mail recently updating you on our
three major campaigns for the coming legislative session: Farm Fresh Meat, Farm
Fresh Milk, and Hemp for Vermont.
If you didn’t receive a letter and would like one, please contact Colin at
colin@ruralvermont.org or 802-223-7222. You can also check out our website for
information about our campaigns at www.ruralvermont.org.
While you’re there, please consider BECOMING A MEMBER of Rural Vermont! Your
membership contributions are critical to our success as a small organization.
ANY amount you can give will really help, and your donation will go straight to
our campaign work. We really need your help to achieve our vision! You can also
mail a contribution to Rural Vermont, 15 Barre Street, Ste. 2, Montpelier, VT
05602. We can also take credit card donations over the phone (call Colin!). If
you are already a member and would like to make an extra donation, that would
be great, too! All donations are tax-deductible.
Also, get ready to TAKE ACTION in the upcoming legislative session! Go to
http://www.leg.state.vt.us/legdir/findmember.cfm to find out who your Vermont
State Senators and Representatives are, and put their contact info by your
telephone, so you are ready to take action when we need it. Then, watch your
email for updates and alerts about our issues.
If you can, please consider being a RURAL VERMONT VOLUNTEER – you can help
others to stay updated by helping with mailings, phone calls, and passing out
flyers at events during the legislative session. These activities help us to
keep folks who don’t have email up to date. If you are interested in being a
volunteer, please contact Colin at colin@ruralvermont.org or 802-223-7222, or
fill out our volunteer survey at
http://www.ruralvermont.org/getinvolved.html#volunteer and send it in. You can
work at the office, at home, or in your community, and really make a
difference!
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UPCOMING EVENTS
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**BRIDGEWATER MILL HOLIDAY FARMERS’ & CRAFTERS’ MARKET and HOLIDAY OPEN
HOUSE
WHEN: Saturday, December 15, 11 am – 4 pm
WHERE: Bridgewater Mill, Rt. 4, Bridgewater VT
Music, food, holiday cheer and family fun! Join us for the premier of the new
Farmers’ and Crafters’ market and Holiday Open House at the Bridgewater
Mill, on Saturday, December 15th, from 11 – 4. Featuring live music with
Lolita Karoli, crafts, food, treasure hunt, potter’s wheel, astrology with
Suzanne, and other surprises! The wonderful shops at the Mill will be open for
browsing as well. Bring your instruments for a musical jam too!
The Bridgewater Mill is located on Rt. 4 in Bridgewater Vermont.
For information, call 802-457-2710
**INTERNATIONAL TRADE HEARINGS
The Vermont Commission on International Trade and State Sovereignty has
scheduled a series of four public hearings to provide information and receive
testimony about the effects of trade agreements on Vermont and Vermonters. The
Commission has a web site at http://www.leg.state.vt.us/WorkGroups/Trade/.
Anyone interested in submitting written testimony or testifying in person at a
hearing is asked to call Nedene Martin at 828-2231.
THE LAST HEARING WILL FOCUS ON AGRICULTURE:
-Tuesday, December 18 from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. at The Abbey Restaurant in
Enosburg Falls: the effects of international free trade agreements on
Vermont agriculture.
**Save the Date! 2008 VT Grazing Conferences Features Greg Judy
The 12th Annual Vermont Grazing Conference, titled From Forgotten Fields to
Farm Fresh Food will feature Missouri grazier Greg Judy as keynote speaker.
The conference will take place at Vermont Technical College in Randolph, VT
on Saturday, January 19, 2008. The schedule includes themed tracks for
dairy, meat, poultry, diversified, animal management, soil and forages,
consumer interests, and grazing partnerships. Plans are in motion for a
kids’ mini conference, and an intensive afternoon session focused on meat
processing. The conference is co-organized by the UVM Center for Sustainable
Agriculture and the Vermont Grass Farmers Association. To learn more about the
conference, contact Jenn Colby, VT Pasture Network, at (802) 656-0858,
jcolby@uvm.edu , or visit www.uvm.edu/~pasture .
**Save the Dates! NOFA-VT 2-Day Winter Conference Announced
NOFA-VT is pleased and proud to announce we will be offering, for the first
time ever, a 2-day Winter Conference, February 16th and 17th, at the Vermont
Technical College in Randolph, Vermont. Mark your calendars and stay tuned for
more information! If you’d like to be added to our mailing list to receive a
copy of the Winter Conference brochure, please contact the office, 434-4122, or
info@nofavt.org.