Action Alert 2/21/8

--FARM FRESH MILK BILL - ACTION NEEDED!
--UPDATE on Hemp for Vermont
--RURAL VERMONT EVENTS
--Other Upcoming Events

***FARM FRESH MILK RESTORATION ACT of 2008***
Great News - The first hearing on the Farm Fresh Milk Restoration Act of 2008 (H.616) has been scheduled! This hearing will give the House Agriculture Committee an Overview of the bill. There will only be a few witnesses who will talk: Sam Burr (the legislative council – staff person for the legislature), the Farm Bureau, the Dairy Co-ops, and Amy Shollenberger (representing Rural Vermont). The idea is to give the committee an overview of the bill, so they can decide if they will work on the bill more in order to try and pass it. That’s where YOU come in.

We Need YOU to Come to the Hearing! If you support this bill, and you want the bill to pass this year, please come to this hearing. We know it is a difficult time of day, and it is a long drive, but this is where it counts! If the committee does not believe there is overwhelming interest in this bill, they might not get it done in time.

Here are the details:
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
8:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Vermont Statehouse

If you can come, please let us know! Call 802-223-7222 or email amybeth@together.net.

ALSO - PLEASE CALL YOUR HOUSE REPRESENTATIVE (Tuesday-Friday) and ask them to urge the House Agriculture Committee to pass the Farm Fresh Milk Restoration Act (H.616)! You can call your Reps at the statehouse at 802-828-2228. Leave a message with your name and phone number and ask for a call back. The person who answers the phone can tell you who your Reps are. If your Rep. is on the Agriculture Committee, ask them to pass the bill out of committee. If you come to the hearing on Wednesday, please take some time to talk to your Reps while you are in the statehouse. We can help to connect you with them!

You can download a copy of the bill here:
http://www.leg.state.vt.us/docs/legdoc.cfm?URL=/docs/2008/bills/intro/H-616.HTM

You can download a factsheet on the bill here:
http://www.ruralvermont.org/archives/003524.html

You can get more info on the issue here:
http://www.ruralvermont.org/food.html

Some tips for the hearing:
-Get there early if you can. It is sometimes difficult to find parking.
-Bring quarters to park on the street, OR park in the garage on East State Street – it is somewhere around $5 to park all day in the garage, and it is a 3 block walk to the statehouse.
-Wear “inside clothes” – it can be hot in the statehouse!
-If you want to eat lunch at the statehouse or in town, bring about $10 and you can get a pretty decent lunch. For a really nice lunch in town, bring $15.
-You will not be allowed to speak at this hearing. There will be opportunities for you to have your voice in other ways, but it is critical that we are all respectful during the hearing. If you feel upset or agitated, just leave the room for awhile and then come back.
-When you come into the statehouse, look for Rural Vermont staff people – they will give you a sticker to wear to show your support, and tell you where to go to the hearing. We’ll be on the first floor!

***UPDATE ON HEMP FOR VERMONT***
This week, the Senate Agriculture Committee held its first hearing on the Hemp for Vermont bill (H.267). The hearing went very well, and the committee seems to be supportive of the issue in general. They are planning to spend more time on the bill soon - stay tuned for updates. For now, if you haven't yet THANKED your House Representative for their vote for the bill, please do so! Write a HAND-WRITTEN thank you note if your Rep(s) voted "yes" on the bill. You can see the vote results here: http://www.ruralvermont.org/archives/003558.html.

If you are not sure who your Representative(s) are, you can find out here: http://www.leg.state.vt.us/legdir/findmember.cfm.

Please send your HAND-WRITTEN note (please do NOT email your reps!) to:
Representative ________________
Vermont Statehouse
115 State Street
Montpelier, VT 05633

Representatives are saying that they really appreciate the notes - keep them coming!

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RURAL VERMONT EVENTS
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** CELEBRATE THE HOUSE PASSAGE OF H.267 AT HEMP EVENTS! **
If you missed the film Hemp and the Rule of Law during Rural Vermont's Hemp Week, it's coming back for anencore performance! Join us for a lively discussion about agricultural hemp following the documentary relaying the US's past involvement with hemp as a major agricultural crop and the current controversy surrounding farmers and state rights to return it as such. For a detailed film description and reviews, visit http://www.tinroofvideo.com/

WHEN: Thursday, February 21st, 6 - 8 pm - TONIGHT!!!
WHERE: UVM Billings Auditorium (CC Theatre)
$3 suggested donation (no one will be turned away for lack of funds)

**HEMP TALKS AT THE GRANGES**
The North Branch and Capital City Granges are each hosting Lecturer Programs about agricultural hemp! Come listen to Rural Vermont staff speak about the benefits of hemp cultivation for Vermont farmers and get an update on what's happening with H.267, the Hemp for Vermont bill.

HOST: Northbranch Grange
WHEN: Monday, February 25th, 7 - 8 pm
WHERE: Grange Hall, Route 12, Worcester
Free & open to the public
* preceded by potluck (free) at 6 pm

HOST: Capital City Grange
WHEN: Saturday, March 1st, 5:30 - 6:30 pm
WHERE: Grange Hall, Northfield St., Montpelier
Free & open to the public
* to be followed by a potluck (free) and contra dance ($8)

For more information, please call (802) 223-7222 or visit www.ruralvermont.org

**WINTER BRUNCH FUNDRAISER for Rural Vermont**
Saturday, March 8th
11 am - 1 pm
Rural Vermont will host brunch at the Rutland Winter Farmers' Market! We'll be serving up recipes inspired by Rural Vermont's Local Foods Cookbook, including squash soup, some local stratas, and apple crisp. Of course, the featured foods will be coming from Rutland Farmers' Market vendors! Sit down and relax in the "cafe" or get your goodies to go. All proceeds will benefit Rural Vermont. For more information or to volunteer, give us a call at 223-7222.

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OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS
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**THE DIVINE REALITY COMEDY CIRCUS: Sat, Feb 23; 7 pm; McCarthy Arts Center. St. Michael's College, Colchester. Bread & Puppet's new show features the Grand Forgiveness Society of Glover, VT, the triumph of the small farmer, advice on where to get really cheap drinking water, a ballet of roosters, political issues, the B&P Circus Band and more.

**CONFRONTING GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE: February 22 & 23; VTLaw School, South Royalton.Are you thinking about climate change? Our children won't have a choice. Using the Law to Protect Future Generations. Opening address by Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt (Fri, 4 - 7 pm) Panel Discussions Sat 9am - 4pm This symposium focuses the climate change debate on intergenerational justice. Whether looking at law in the US and other countries or international law, we seek to understand the legal obligations of present generations and the rights of future ones to mitigate the impact of climate change.

**Lamoille Valley Farmers Artisan Market opens March 5th, 3-7. Please come to enjoy the first rotation of farmer, prepared food, and artisan vendors. In addition to the opportunity to support local producers, there will be a youth activity, a guest chef serving between 4:30 - 6:30, live music and a Rural Vermont info film "The True Cost of Food." Showings will be run throughout the market. Located on Pleasant Street, downtown Morrisville (at the new River Arts Center). Info available opening day. Come on Buy!!!

**JDC's Just Delicious Catering is hosting a localvore dinner on March 8th from
6 p.m. -8 p.m. at Applecheek Farm in Hyde Park Vermont. There will be live piano music and contra dancing with musicians Rich Atkinson, Noah Book, John Mallory, Fran Malory,and John Mullet.
Menu includes: Artisan cheese, Vermont Sausage, homemade bread, organic turkey, root vegetables, apple crisp and Strafford Organic Creamery ice cream.
Price per person is $24.00 adults, $12.00 12 and under. No charge - 5 and under
RSVP by March 5th -Receive a discount and be included in a prize drawing.
For tickets contact Jason Clark: Phone - 802 888 9407 email - jdccatering@yahoo.com
Also if you have a place to hang the flier it would be appreciated. Bring your family and friends! Support your local farms and enjoy delicious food and live music!

**Exploring the Small Farm Dream with Beth Claypoole
Are you interested in starting a small farm business? What type of
information do you need to start? What type of farming enterprise you
would like to develop? Do you know someone who has these same questions?
If these questions sound familiar, Cornell Cooperative Extension Wayne
County, in cooperation with Wayne County Agriculture Development Board
will be presenting a 4 session workshop on February 27th, March 5th, 19th,
and April 2nd to help answer these questions. This in-depth program will
run each evening from 6-9pm at the CCE Wayne County office in Newark, NY.
Applications for participation are now available by calling 315-331-8415
or by accessing the CCE website at:
http://counties.cce.cornell.edu/wayne, search for "Small Farm Dream".
Applications are due by Monday, February 11.

**Maximizing Milk on Home Grown Grains and Forages
Time: 9:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Days and Locations listed below:
March 13 – Newport, VT
March 14 – Highgate, VT
March 18 – Springfield, VT
March 19 – Rutland, VT
This traveling one-day workshop, organized by NOFA-VT and UVM Extension, is designed to meet the needs of dairy producers wanting to maximize the use of their forages systems and/or learn about incorporating home grown grains to offset the costs of purchased feeds. For more information, contact NOFA-VT, 802-434-4122 or UVM Extension, 802-524-6501

**2nd Annual Northeast Animal Power Field Days
September 26 – 28, 2008
Tunbridge Fair Grounds, Tunbridge, VT
The Northeast Animal Power Field Days is a celebration of sustainable farming and renewable resources promoting conservation, stewardship, small farms, healthy forests, and the roles that they play in vital communities. This 3-day conference will feature working animal and equipment demonstrations in field and forest settings, workshops, exhibits, networking sessions, and an auction and swap meet on Sunday. Workshop topics will include grazing management, working with draft animals, livestock health, getting started with animal power and more. For more information, go to: www.animalpowerfielddays.org or contact Carl Russell and Lisa McCrory, info@animalpowerfielddays.org, 802-234-5524. Join our discussion forum; www.draftanimalpower.com .