ACTION ALERT March 19, 2007

--Poultry Regs are on the move!
--Current Use Study bill
--Rural Vermont Events
--Other Events

POULTRY REGS ARE ON THE MOVE!
Our hard work has paid off and our bill has made it past the first hurdle! On Friday afternoon, the House Agriculture Committee passed their Omnibus Agriculture Bill with a 9-2 vote, and the provision to remove the inspection requirement for poultry produced on farms raising 1000 birds or less annually for sale from the farm, at a farmers market, and to restaurants was included!

It was an exciting week, as this provision of the bill was hotly contested. Several representatives from the Agency of Agriculture were present in the committee room trying to get this provision out of the bill. There was also an amendment offered by a committee member to remove the exemption for sale to restaurants, but this amendment failed with a 3-8 vote. The actual text of this section of the bill is copied below.

Here's what the provision would do:
1) Allows poultry producers raising fewer than 1000 birds annually to sell their poultry from the farm, at farmers markets, and to restaurants, without having the poultry slaughtered in an inspected facility. This means the birds can be slaughtered on the farm and sold at these venues. It will bring Vermont state law into line with the federal regulations, which allow for this activity.

2) Requires that farmers who sell uninspected poultry to restaurants obtain from the restaurant a written statement indicating that the restaurant is aware that the poultry is uninspected, and that the restaurant is aware of the menu labeling requirements.

3) Requires the restaurant to note on the menu next to any item that contains the uninspected poultry that it is uninspected and name the farm that it comes from.

4) Requires the Department of Health to develop a label that farmers would have to use on the poultry that is sold to restaurants.

WE NEED YOU! Please take BOTH actions below THIS WEEKEND - SATURDAY, SUNDAY, OR MONDAY - to help this bill along its journey. It still has a long way to go to get through the legislative process this year. It will be voted on by the full House of Representatives next week. HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP:

1) Please WRITE A THANK YOU NOTE to a House Agriculture Committee member (or to all of them) who voted YES on this bill. This was a difficult vote for some of them, and a frustrating process for most. It is important to recognize their work and appreciate it. Please send a HANDWRITTEN note to one or more of the committee members listed below:
Chairman David Zuckerman
Vice Chair Al Perry
Representative Dick Lawrence
Representative David Ainsworth
Representative Chris Bray
Representative Reg Godin
Representative Carolyn Partridge
Representative Kristy Spengler
Representative Will Stevens

MAIL YOUR THANK YOU TO THE REPRESENTATIVES AT THE STATEHOUSE:
115 State Street
Montpelier, VT 05633

(voting NO were Representatives Steve Larrabee and John Malcolm)

2) Please CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE(S) at home this weekend and ask them to support the Omnibus Agriculture Bill, and especially the provision that would allow poultry producers raising fewer than 1000 birds to sell uninspected poultry from the farm, at farmers markets, and to restaurants. You can find your representatives' contact information here: http://www.leg.state.vt.us/legdir/districts.cfm?Body=H.
(If your representative is one of the House Agriculture Committee members listed above, there is no need for a phone call - just write your thank you notes and get them in the mail as soon as possible. Then, call a friend in another district to urge them to call their reps.)

3) We would really like to have a strong SHOW OF SUPPORT for this bill when it is voted on by the full house. PLEASE COME TO THE STATEHOUSE on Wednesday for the floor debate and vote. We do not have final details yet, but we will update our outgoing voicemail message as soon as we have the info - call 223-7222 on Tuesday for details, or email amy@ruralvermont.org if you want an update. The vote will likely be in the afternoon on Wednesday.

Here is the actual text of the provision (our listserve does not allow for underlining, so the text is unformatted...we'll post the actual bill on our website at www.ruralvermont.org as soon as we can).

* * * On farm poultry processing and labeling for sale * * *

Sec. 7. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND AGENCY OF AGRICULTURE, FOOD AND MARKETS REGULATIONS

(a) The department of health shall amend Regulation 5-204(1)(X) (requirement of agency of agriculture, food and markets or United States department of agriculture inspection of poultry) so that the regulation does not require inspection of poultry that is exempt from inspection under 6 V.S.A.§ 3312(b).

Sec. 8. 6 V.S.A § 3312 is amended to read:

§ 3312. INSPECTION; EXCEPTION EXCEPTIONS
[NOTE: section (a) is current statute]
(a) Inspection shall not be provided under this chapter at any establishment for the slaughter of livestock or poultry or the preparation of any livestock products or poultry products which are not intended for use as human food, but these products shall, prior to their offer for sale or transportation in intrastate commerce, unless naturally inedible by humans, be denatured or otherwise identified as prescribed by rules of the secretary to deter their use for human food. These licensed establishments shall be subject to periodic review.

(b) Inspection shall not be required for the slaughter or preparation of poultry products of the producer’s own raising on the producer’s own farm, whether or not they are intended for use as human food if fewer than 1,000 birds are slaughtered annually and no birds are offered for sale or transportation in interstate commerce, and the poultry products are only sold from the farm, at a farmers’ market, or to a food restaurant licensed by the commissioner of health, or are for personal use.

(c) All poultry sold pursuant to the exemption in subsection (b) of this section shall be labeled with the following information:

(1) Name of farm and name of producer;
(2) Address of farm;
(3) Exempted per 6 V.S.A. § 3312(b): NOT INSPECTED

(d) The department of health shall establish labeling requirements for all poultry products exempt from inspection pursuant to subsection (b) of this section and sold at a food restaurant licensed by the department. Labels shall include safe handling and cooking instructions and shall identify the poultry grower for purposes of traceability. The requirements shall be effective November 1, 2007.

(e) Poultry sold to food restaurants under the exemption in subsection (b) of this section shall also include the following on the label:

Any menu item that includes this poultry must clearly state the name of the farm and have the words “poultry processed on the farm and not inspected” on the menu in proximity to the menu item.

(f) The poultry producer, upon first selling poultry to a food restaurant, must procure a signed statement from the food restaurant stating that the food restaurant is aware that the poultry is exempted from inspection under subsection (b) of this section, and that the menu of the food restaurant must have the information required by subsection (d) of this section. The poultry producer must keep the signed statement on file as long as the producer is selling poultry to the food restaurant under this section. The poultry producer must have a signed statement on file from each food restaurant to which poultry is sold under this section.

CURRENT USE STUDY BILL
The legislature is considering hiring a consultant to review the Current Use (use value appraisal) program. The consultant would review the program, per a list of questions posed by the legislature. Then, a task force will be formed in the summer to review the consultant's findings and make recommendations to the legislature in January for the program. This provision is part of a much bigger tax bill, and will likely change often as it makes its way through the legislature. If you are interested in following this provision, let us know - email amy@ruralvermont.org. We'll include periodic updates on the provision as it moves along.

***RURAL VERMONT EVENTS***
RURAL VERMONT DEMOCRACY WORKSHOPS
THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE!

THIS WEEK - SHELBURNE WORKSHOP ON TUESDAY!

Please join Rural Vermont and the Vermont Conservation Education Fund for a great workshop on how to get involved with policy making in Vermont. You'll learn all you need to know to be an effective advocate for issues that you care about. No experience necessary. All welcome! A great opportunity for home-schoolers, too!
--Learn how the Vermont legislature works
--Get the scoop on how to navigate the legislative process
--Learn the statehouse lingo
--Find out where things are at the statehouse
--Practice talking to legislators one-on-one and testifying at a public hearing
--Take home a helpful booklet filled with tips, tricks, and contact information for your local legislators

All workshops are 6 pm - 8:30 pm and will include light refreshments.
Suggested donation $5 - nobody turned away for lack of funds.

MARCH 20, 2007 - Shelburne Town Offices, 5410 Shelburne Road - SHELBURNE
MARCH 26, 2007 - Northshire Bookstore, 4869 Main Street - MANCHESTER CENTER
APRIL 5, 2007 - American Legion Hall, 60 Railroad Street, ISLAND POND

Please call Robb at 223-7222 to RSVP - not necessary, but helpful!

RURAL VERMONT HOT CHOCOLATE SOCIALS! PLEASE JOIN US!
This week - MILTON SOCIAL ON WEDNESDAY! DANVILLE SOCIAL ON THURSDAY!

Come one, come all to enjoy Fair Trade Hot Chocolate made with Vermont Farm Fresh Milk. Learn about how you can get involved with Rural Vermont and work toward our vision of living soils, thriving farms, and healthy communities. Find out what you can do to help make a strong local food system right here in Vermont! Meet local farmers, hear interesting speakers, and enjoy some of the best hot chocolate you've ever had (and other treats, too!).

All socials are 7 pm to 8:30 pm, and are free and open to the public. We hope you'll become a member of Rural Vermont while you're there! We'll have activities for kids, too, and great door prizes!

PLEASE PLAN TO ATTEND THE SOCIAL NEAREST TO YOU!
Wednesday, 3/21/07 - New Life Christian Fellowship, Milton
Thursday, 3/22/07 - United Methodist Church, Danville
Tuesday, 4/3/07 - Pawlet Community Church, Pawlet
Tuesday, 4/10/07 - United Church of Colchester, Colchester
Monday, 4/16/07 - Methodist Church, Enosburg Falls
Tuesday, 4/24/07 - Boccelli's on the Canal, Bellows Falls

If you have any questions, please call or email Shelby at shelby@ruralvermont.org or 802-223-7222.

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other events...

GREEN MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL
Our Daily Bread (cosponsored by Rural Vermont)
Monday, March 19th, 8:15 pm
Wednesday, March 21st, 2:00 pm

City Hall Arts Center

Films in Yiddish, Krio, Pidgin, Turkish and Ylongu...and films by
Vermont filmmakers. too! Documentaries from the Margaret Mead Traveling Film and Video
Festival....A tribute to documentary pioneer Albert Maysles...A chance to talk movies with critic Kenneth Turan....All this and more at the 10th Annual Green Mountain Film Festival, coming March 16-25! Go to www.greenmountainfilmfestival.org to see the entire schedule and order tickets via a downloadable order form.

Women, Families, Farmland:
Farm Transition Gatherings For Vermont Women
March 24, 2007 Rochester VT
Are you thinking about the future of your farm? Do you worry about how to pass the farm to the next generation, keep it in farming, and comfortably retire? Are you trying to figure out how to bring these issues up with your family?
These gatherings are for women thinking about farm transfer, succession and tenure.
• Learn about resources about farm transfer.
• Increase your ability to make informed and effective decisions.
• Gain skills for communicating with professional advisors and family members.
• Spend time with other women thinking about similar issues.
The Vermont "Women, Families and Farmland" gathering will be held on Saturday, March 24, 9 am to 4 pm, at Liberty Hill Farm, Rochester VT. For more information or to register, contact Debra Heleba, Vermont Women's Agricultural Network, 802-656-0233 or debra.heleba@uvm.edu. Other gatherings will be taking place in New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts.

A Going Local Colloquium:
The Challenges and Opportunities in Promoting Local Food and Local Food Systems
9:00 am-5:00 pm in UVM's WATERMAN building
APRIL 19, 2007
Join Madeleine Kunin in an opening speech April 18th, 7:00 pm in Memorial Lounge, Waterman Hall
On April 19th, please come enjoy panel discussions, display booths, taste tests, film fest, raffle prizes, and MORE!
FEATURING: Michael Shuman, keynote speaker and author of Going Local: Creating Self-Reliant Communities in a Global Age
Stay tuned for more information coming your way!
For more information contact Jennifer Green or Patrick Wood
e-mail: jlgreen@uvm.edu
pwood@uvm.edu

If you have any questions about this email or if you want to subscribe to or unsubscribe from Rural Vermont's Farm Policy Network e-alert list, contact amybeth@together.net.