Rural Vermont's Vision for Vermont Agriculture
The Vision for Vermont Agriculture project began because our members expressed frustration with Rural Vermont’s history of working “against” what we didn’t like, and asked us to determine what we wanted to work “for” instead. As a result of that feedback, the staff and board discussed our tradition of developing our goals and workplan by talking to our membership, and we determined that we needed to revisit that tradition. Thus Rural Vermont organized four Vision for Vermont Agriculture planning meetings and invited members and the community to participate in designing Rural Vermont’s Vision. The four meetings were held in Springfield, Hardwick, St. Albans and Middlebury. From the dialogue with our membership we developed our vision statement.
Rural Vermont’s Vision for Vermont Agriculture is: Our vision is for a Vermont local food system which is self-reliant and based on reverence for the earth. It builds living soils which nurture animals and people with wholesome, natural products, supporting healthy, thriving farms and communities. These communities in turn work to encourage and support current and future farmers, continuing our Vermont heritage. This abundant and generous way of life celebrates our diversity and interdependence.
Our members agree that sustainable agriculture should be the foundation of our communities and that all people have the right to healthy, locally produced food. For the past twenty years, Rural Vermont has been at the forefront of fighting corporate control of agriculture, representing family farmers and amplifying their voices in the struggle to achieve food sovereignty. As we head into our next decade, we want to look forward to our vision for the future, and work toward achieving that vision, even in the face of increased pressure from corporate agribusiness and government policies that do not support family farmers.
Farm Fresh Meat/NAIS
Farm Fresh Meat is meat that is produced from animals grown the way nature intended, processed on the farm, and sold to local customers. Many regulations put barriers between farmers and consumers, forcing both to enter the industrialized food system to sell or buy meat. Rural Vermont recently worked to break down one of these barriers. In 2007, the “Chicken Bill” was enacted into law in Vermont. It allows small-scale poultry producers to process their birds on the farm (without state or federal inspection) and sell these birds at farmers’ markets or to local restaurants. We are currently working with farmers and consumers who would like to break down more barriers for other meat products.
Rural Vermont is opposed to any government run program that seeks to identify all premises with livestock or all animals individually. We request that the Agency of Agriculture instead pursue an aggressive strategy to work with Vermont’s family farmers to share information about contagious animal disease and the appropriate response if a farmer suspects an animal has a disease, as well as to create a secure and self-reliant local food system in the state of Vermont. The Agency has been clear that this program is a response program, not a prevention program. The information sessions indicated that this program will not stop contagious animal disease from entering the state. Rural Vermont requests that the Agency focus its financial, staff and time resources on prevention programs rather than reactive programs.
Read MoreFarm Fresh Milk
Farm Fresh Milk is safe for our Bodies and our Communities!
Farm fresh milk is a natural and beneficial alternative to processed milk. The pasteurization and homogenization process destroys important vitamins, enzymes, and fatty acids, and alters proteins and immune factors that are inherent components in farm fresh milk. Farm fresh milk also creates healthy connections between farmer and consumer, stronger ties within our community, and a local sustainable economy.
Read MoreAgricultural Hemp
Hemp farming is an agricultural issue and related issues are health, environment, and economic development. Hemp is a legitimate agricultural crop with many high quality food, fiber, and fuel products made from it.
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