Action Alert 3/1/8

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

***FARM FRESH MILK RESTORATION ACT of 2008***
THANK YOU to the 50 people who braved the snowstorm to show your support for the Farm Fresh Milk Restoration Act! YOUR PRESENCE MADE A DIFFERENCE! The House Agriculture Committee has decided to take up the bill and to try to pass it by the crossover deadline. Hearings are being scheduled for the week of March 10th. We do not yet have details, but will let you know as soon as we do. We'll need people to come to the hearings, and to keep the calls and notes coming to legislators during this critical week. Watch your email and postal mail box for updates, or check our website at www.ruralvermont.org for news as we get it. You can also find a sound recording of the hearing on our website if you missed it. AND, you can get a copy of the bill, a factsheet, and other information on our website - check it out!

HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP THIS WEEK TO KEEP THE FARM FRESH MILK RESTORATION ACT MOVING!

(1) CALL YOUR HOUSE REPRESENTATIVE and ask them to support H.616 - the Farm Fresh Milk Restoration Act. You can find out who your HOUSE rep(s) are here: http://www.leg.state.vt.us/legdir/findmember.cfm as well as their contact information. Remember to CALL (not email) - many reps do not check their email.

(2) WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR! Write a letter to the editor of your local paper and express your support for the bill. Be sure to say why you support it. You can find a list of newspapers and their contact info here: http://www.ruralvermont.org/getinvolved.html .

(3) VOLUNTEER for Rural Vermont - we need help with many tasks to help everybody stay up-to-date on what's happening with the bill. If you can make phone calls, work in the office on mailings, help us spread the word in your community, or anything else, please contact Colin at colin@ruralvermont.org or 802-223-7222. Even 1 hour of your time can really help!

(4) MAKE A DONATION! All of these activities cost money, and we need all the help we can get to make sure we get the bill through the statehouse. If you can help, please send a check to Rural Vermont, 15 Barre Street, Ste. 2, Montpelier, VT 05602 - mark it FARM FRESH MILK. Any amount will really help!

***UPDATE ON HEMP FOR VERMONT***
The Hemp for Vermont bill (H.267) is slowed down just a little bit. As the legislature moves toward crossover, there is a great push to get bills completed before this deadline. Because the Hemp bill has already met the crossover deadline in the House, the Senate is working on other bills first - but don't despair! The bill is likely to be taken up again in mid-March, once the crossover date is passed. Stay tuned for how you can help to make this happen. For now, sit tight on this bill, and help us get the Farm Fresh Milk bill passed! (see above for details)

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RURAL VERMONT EVENTS
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** CELEBRATE THE HOUSE PASSAGE OF H.267 AT HEMP EVENTS! **
TONIGHT - Hemp at the Grange!
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)

** WINTER BRUNCH FUNDRAISER **
On Saturday, March 8th from 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 and other local folks. Food provided by Bear Mountain Bakery, On the Edge Farm, Consider Bardwell Farm, Boardman Hill Farm, Tio Grain Farm, Champlain Orchards, and more. Sit down and relax in the "cafe" or get your goodies to go. $3 per item, or get soup, your choice of strata, and dessert for just $10! All proceeds will benefit Rural Vermont. For more information or to volunteer, give us a call at 223-7222.

** SAVE THE DATE: King Corn comes to Montpelier! **
Rural Vermont, the Savoy Theater, and the Green Mountain Film Festival present
King Corn on
Saturday March 29th at 6:30 pm.
The new documentary follows two men who set out for Iowa to plant their own acre of corn and follow its path through the industrial food system. Rural Vermont will host a pre-film reception; details to be announced soon. “The secret history of a ubiquitous grain .. King Corn is penetrating and graceful, an uproariously funny and unexpectedly moving look at America’s food supply, and especially at the massive corn-farming operations that have come to dominate the placid landscapes of the American Midwest.” – The Isthmus, Madison WI

** SAVE THE DATE: RURAL VERMONT'S ANNUAL MEETING **
It's time to celebrate another year of moving our state closer to Rural Vermont's Vision for Vermont Agriculture! Come hear a recap on the progress we've made in the last year, and get an update on where we're headed next. The night will also include an inspiring keynote speaker, board elections, an awards ceremony, a silent auction, and local eats. More details to come.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
6:30 - 9 pm
Royalton Academy
Route 14, ROYALTON

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OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS
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** Health, Beauty, and Strength with Nourishing Traditional Diets **
Come watch the 5-hour lecture series on nutrition by Sally Fallon based on her cookbook, Nourishing Traditions. The DVD presentation includes the importance of animal fats in our diets, health benefits of raw dairy, how to prepare grains and legumes, benefits of lacto-fermented foods, and much more. The lecture will be shown in 70 minute increments.
When: Every Wednesday in March (3/5, 3/12, 3/19, 3/26) at 7 pm
Place: Heartbeet Lifesharing, Kaspar House, Hardwick
Fee: Free of charge
Registration/More info: Kara Fitzgerald, 472-5598

**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." (film produced by the Sierra Club). 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!!!

**Vermont Farm Women’s Reception
Thursday, March 6th

5:30 to 6:30 pm
Helen Day Arts Center, Stowe
with words from local Farmers, Bambi Freeman, Julie Wolcott and the Lepine sisters.
7:00 Panel Discussion -The Vermont Farm: Facing the Future
Moderated by House Agriculture Committee Chairman, David Zuckerman, with panelists representing our local farms
Leslie and Claire Pike, Keewayden Farm
John and Rocio Clark, Applecheek Farm
Michael and Nicole Waring, Windy Acres Farm
Christine Kaiser, Kaiser Farm and Feed
This evening of free events is co-sponsored by The Vermont Farm Women’s Fund and the Helen Day Art Center School Street Stowe 253-8358 www.helenday.com

**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

**Whole Farm Planning Training Program – First Session April/May
We invite anyone who works directly with farmers to enroll in this educational opportunity. This is a unique opportunity to expand your skills and expertise in a topic much needed by your farmer clientele. Whole farm planning is essential for many farmers looking to expand, diversify, transfer assets to the next generation, and improve environmental conditions and farm profitability. This training will involve three intensive sessions. Each session will last 3-4 days. The first session will be held in April/May, 2008, the second session in September/October 2008 and the third session will be held in February/March, 2009. The sessions will focus on:
-farm/family goal setting,
-farm resource delineation,
-on-farm decision making,
-farm financial planning and analysis,
-reading the land/environmental monitoring,
-grazing planning
All expenses for the training will be paid through a Northeast SARE Professional Development Grant. Covered expenses include travel, room and board, and supplies and materials. Additionally, a program mentor will assist participants through the use of a list serve, interactive web site and other distance education methods.Farmer-educators will receive an additional $300 per session as a stipend for their time and to help defray costs while they are away from the farm. Participants will be required to attend all three sessions and work with at least two farms between sessions to implement the knowledge and skills gained during their training. Farmer participants may use their own farm as one of the two required. Two concurrent training sessions will be offered. One set of sessions will be held in central NY and the other will be held in central New Hampshire. Twelve participants will be accepted for each training site (NY and NH). The training is targeted at educators across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. For more information about the New York sessions call Phil Metzger at (607) 334-3231, Ext. 4 (Central NY RC&D). For information about the New Hampshire sessions, call Seth Wilner at (603) 863-9200 (UNH Cooperative Extension).

**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 .