Action Alert 11/14/07

--FARM BILL ACTION NEEDED – TODAY!
--Rural Vermont Events – don’t miss out!
--Other upcoming events

***FARM BILL UPDATE***
The Farm Bill is being debated this week on the U.S. Senate Floor. Two specific
provisions of the Senate Ag Committee's version of the Farm Bill need your
action! Please call Senator Patrick Leahy today (Thursday!) about these
issues.

CALL: 202-224-4242 (Senator Leahy's Washington, DC, office direct line)

ISSUES:
1) Section 10305 exempts the National Animal Identification System from the
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). This is a move to address "confidentiality"
concerns raised about NAIS in the past year. This section gives implied
approval of NAIS by addressing these concerns without a full debate about NAIS,
and without any clear parameters around the program. TELL SENATOR LEAHY TO
REMOVE SECTION 10305 from the Farm Bill and TO STOP NAIS.

2) EQIP funding helps farmers to make needed water quality improvements on
their farms. Farmers must match the federal EQIP grant in order to get the
funding. Senator Harkin had limited EQIP funding to $240,000 per farm, in order
to allow more farmers to benefit from the program (the average EQIP grant is
$19,000, and there is a long waiting list for the program). Senator Leahy
sponsored an amendment that passed in the Ag Committee, raising this cap to
$450,000 per farm - arguing that CAFO's (concentrated animal feeding
operations) need more money because they have higher environmental costs. (Many
CAFOs across the country have huge manure lagoons and need to deal with their
manure.) TELL SENATOR LEAHY TO KEEP THE EQIP CAP AT $240,000/FARM TO HELP
FAMILY FARMERS WHO ARE STEWARDING THE LAND AND WATER PROPERLY.

*** LOCAL FOODS DINNER & BENEFIT ***
Come out and support a good cause while enjoying a totally local, totally tasty
homecooked meal featuring recipes from Rural Vermont's new Local Foods Cookbook
and ingredients from Middlebury area farmers, bakers, and food artisans. Menu
items include Thursday Morning Quiche, Chicken in Gravy over Localvore
Biscuits, Roasted Winter Vegetables with Maple Glaze, and much more!! Thanks to
all of the contributors who are making this dinner possible, not to mention
divinely delicious --- Susan Reid (our volunteer chef for the evening),
Champlain Orchards, Animal Farm, Heleba Potato Farm, Blue Ledge Farm, Tio Grain
Farm, Champlain Valley Bees & Queens, Eastman Farm, Golden Russet Farm, Three
Owls Dairy, Last Resort Farm, Holden Heritage Agriculture, Crawford Farm, and
Good Companion Bakery.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007
6:30 - 8:30 pm
Glass Onion Restaurant
Hannaford Career Center
51 Charles Ave., MIDDLEBURY

All proceeds will benefit Rural Vermont. Tickets cost $35 each or 2 for $60.
Only 40 tickets will be sold!! Order yours today by calling (802) 223-7222 or
get them online at our secure website www.ruralvermont.org. At the event, Rural
Vermont's new Local Foods Cookbook (with an exclusive insert!) will be
available for purchase ($15 each).

*** HOST A FOOD TASTING ***
What better way to connect with friends, family, and neighbors than over
wholesome foods? Rural Vermont’s LOCAL FOODS COOKBOOKS are here!
They feature 100+ recipes collected from all of you, and highlight Vermont’s
bountiful farm fresh products. Now we need your help to sell them! As the
holiday season approaches, there is no better time to host a Food Tasting
(featuring recipes from the cookbook) for friends, family, and neighbors.
They will be floored by the flavors and the worthy cause
that their cookbook purchases support! You can also order a cookbook ($15 each)
by calling 802-223-7222, visiting
http://www.ruralvermont.org/publications.html, or in the gift shop at Otter
Creek Brewery in Middlebury.

*** HOST A FILM SCREENING ***
Rural Vermont has a newly stocked library of FILMS including The Power of
Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil, Standing Silent Nation, Fast Food
Nation, and Supersize Me. Organize a Film Screening in your home, church, or
library and help us share these and other important films about relocalizing
our food supply and supporting our local economy. The legislature will be back
in session before we know it, so now is the time to inspire your community to
take action!

** FILM SCREENINGS **
Suggested donation for all films is $3. Nobody turned away for lack of funds!

Deconstructing Supper & The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
7:00 PM
Stowe Library
More Info: Nancy at 253-6037

Standing Silent Nation
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
6:00 PM
Way Out Wax
251 Harrel St., Suite C
Morrisville
More info: Anna at 888-4014 x8003

Contact Shelby at 223-7222 or shelby@ruralvermont.org for more info about
setting up a Food Tasting and/or Film Screening in your neighborhood.

***RURAL VERMONT CONTRA DANCE***
Bring your family and wear your (clean, soft-soled) dancing shoes
to raise some funds for Rural Vermont!
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Will Mentor calling with Sarah Blair on fiddle and Colin McCaffery on guitar!
Family Dance - 6:00 – 7:30 PM
BREAK with yummy desserts for sale – 7:30 – 8:00 PM
Adult Dance - 8:00 PM - 11:00 PM
Shelburne Town Hall (5376 Shelburne Road (Rte 7), Shelburne)
Admission: $10/adult (kids under 16 free) - all proceeds benefit Rural Vermont
More info: 223-7222

**********************
OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS
**********************

**Get Cash for your old thermostat!
This November, the Agency of Natural Resources is offering a $5 in store credit
for old thermostats that contain mercury. You can turn them in at your local
Aubuchon's, True Value, Ace, Do It Best or participating independent hardware
stores. If you use the credit to buy a new programmable thermostat, you could
save even more money. New programmable thermostats can save you more money by
making your home more efficient and reducing your heating bills!
For more details on the thermostat rebate program and proper disposal of other
household products containing mercury, go to http://www.mercvt.org

**Environmental Action 2007 Conference - THIS SATURDAY!
Mobilizing the Grassroots for a Greener Vermont
November 17, 2007
Over 30 training and information workshops will focus on transportation and
land use issues, energy and global warming, water and forest issues, and
environmental health and toxins. Several workshops will also focus on honing
some of the skills necessary to be an effective advocate. So don't miss a great
opportunity to join your friends and neighbors for a fun day intended to help
catalyze greater local action and forge the connections that will lead Vermont
toward a clean, healthy and sustainable future. For more information or to
register online visit www.vtenvironmentalaction.org or call or email Johanna
Miller at 802-223-2328 ext. 112 or jmiller@vnrc.org.

**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/. The
site can also be accessed from the legislative home page by scrolling to near
the bottom of the page and clicking on "Issues of Interest," then, under
2007-2008 session, scrolling to "Committees, Commissions, Task Forces and Other
Work Groups" and clicking on "Commission on International Trade and State
Sovereignty." Info and Details about the meetings are available on this site.
Anyone interested in submitting written testimony or testifying in person at a
hearing is asked to call Nedene Martin at 828-2231.
The hearing schedule is as follows (two hearings have already happened):
-Tuesday, November 27, 2007 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Rutland Regional
Medical Center, CVPS/Leahy conference room: the effects of
international free trade agreements on health care and prescription
drugs in Vermont.
-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.