Rural Vermont is hiring a part-time Office Assistant! This position supports daily operations, manages records, and keeps our office running smoothly. We’re looking for a self-starter who can work independently in our Montpelier office. The ideal candidate brings office management experience, strong communication skills, and experience with tools like LibreOffice, Google Suite, Salesforce, and Squarespace (a plus). The role offers flexible scheduling and $20–$22 per hour for about 5 hours/week in office.

Interested? Submit your cover letter, resume, and three references to shelby@ruralvermont.org by November 6th for priority consideration. Start date is early December 2026.

Join us at Black Dirt Farm in Stannard for greenhouse deconstruction and reconstruction! We will be taking down a 30’x100’ high tunnel that was damaged by snowload last winter. If time permits we will begin rebuilding a modified temporary greenhouse in its place with the salvageable materials.  Instruction provided. 

Work brigades are a super fun opportunity to connect with your community and neighbors, and support farmers - practically and in terms of morale, while strengthening our communities with trust and solidarity through collective labor, connection, mutual aid, and knowledge sharing. In addition to the greenhouse work, this brigade will feature a short discussion about compost heat recovery, solving for ‘metabolic rift’ in our communities and its role in building food sovereignty in Vermont, and related food scrap reuse and recycling policy in Vermont.

Lunch, refreshments, education, good times and most tools provided. All welcome. RSVP required for planning purposes. 

Vermont’s ability to feed itself relies on thriving community-scale farms working together towards food sovereignty and community resilience. We hope you can join us! 

This brigade is hosted by the People’s School of Agroecology , a project of Rural Vermont.

*We may finish before 4pm, depending on numbers. It’s okay if you can’t stay for the whole time, but we encourage you to come at the beginning if you can!

Rural Vermont envisions a just and equitable world rooted in reverence for the earth and dignity for all. While corporate consolidation, climate change, and inequitable policies continue to challenge our local food systems, we are making meaningful strides in improving the viability of community-scale farms, supporting farmworkers, and restoring the ecological health of our landscapes. In 2027 and always, we’ll organize to build power, educate to strengthen policy and practical skills, and advocate for community-led solutions.

Check out Rural Vermont’s 2027 Course of Action HERE and join our work to build a more equitable, inclusive, and resilient farm and food web.

Meet our Board of Directors HERE, or learn more about becoming a Rural Vermont member HERE. 

It’s almost time for Rural Vermont’s favorite party of the year! Members, friends, allies, and supporters are invited to spend a fun and festive autumn evening with us in the NEK. The night will include a potluck dinner with BYOB, live music, stories from farmers including Hannah Pearce of Hillside Farm, an art station with our friend and collaborator Erok Gillard, a farm & food raffle, lots of social time, and more. We’ll share some Rural Vermont updates and plans, and invite your ideas and feedback. We’ll also be electing new Board members (check out our 2026-27 Board Slate!).

As always, this event is open to all and FREE for Rural Vermont members! Not a member yet? Join in advance for free entry (and to support our work!) or pay a sliding scale admission at the door.

Your RSVP helps us plan! Please let us know you’re coming by Sunday November 8th.

More Info & RSVP Here…

Join us for a day of hazelnut tree planting at Fledgling Farmstead in Tunbridge on Saturday, November 24th, from 10:00am-3:00pm! Help a local community farm establish a perennial fruit-and-nut food forest. Come plant hazelnut trees, learn about planting specifics, cultivar considerations for our climate zone, and how to use pollen charts to match cultivars. We'll provide lunch, tools, and education, though you’re welcome to bring your own digging shovel if you have one. Lunch will be provided, with lunchtime discussion focused on cooperative crop models.
Read More Here…

The Livestock Owned by Communities to Advance Local (LOCAL) Foods Act (S.1212) is a commonsense, bipartisan bill that protects and expands access to on-farm livestock processing.

The bill updates the personal-use exemption in the Federal Meat Inspection Act to align with modern USDA standards and clarify that clarify that it’s legal for non-farmers to buy a share of live animals and then hire someone as their agent to do the processing on-farm. It will protect the rights of livestock owners, producers, and itinerant slaughterers, helping smaller-scale local meat economies thrive. The LOCAL Foods Act will preserve accessibility and affordability of locally produced meat and build stronger, locally-controlled food systems for generations to come.

The bill didn't appear in the recent Senate Farm Bill, which was officially passed out of committee in September. Now the Farm Bill heads to the Senate floor, where we have an opportunity to include the LOCAL Foods Act as an amendment. Tell Senator Welch & Senator Sanders: we support on-farm processing in the Farm Bill. Include the LOCAL Foods Act (S.1212) and vote "yes" on a LOCAL Foods Act amendment!

Sign On Here…

Join us in Corinth at Bottomless Well Farm for a Yurt relocation & winterization! Join us in supporting winter housing needs for a local goat farmer in Corinth. Learn about yurt construction, deconstruction, and all the pieces that need to come together for year-round yurt living. Lunch provided. 

We are hoping for a “yurt raising”, where we are able to pick up and relocate the yurt while it is still intact. If that isn’t possible, we will be deconstructing, moving, and reconstructing the yurt as a group. Lots of project opportunities for all abilities. Please note: This is an off grid, walk-in site...with little service.

Work brigades are a popular educational tool used worldwide to strengthen communities and build trust and solidarity through collective labor, connection, mutual aid, and knowledge sharing. We provide all refreshments, education, and tools, but please bring your own (labeled) drill and drill bits if you have one. 

Read More & RSVP Here…

Join us on Friday, October 2nd from 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm for a community gathering to share seed stories, explore seed-saving and processing equipment, eat together, and connect. Live art demonstrations by Plainfield-based creative Erok Gillard. 

This is the first in a series of "People's Seeds" events brought to you by the People's School of Agroecology, Rural Vermont, New Farms for New Americans, the Vermont Community Garden Network, and other local allies. Stay tuned for upcoming events on local and international seed policy, and more seed stories and processing techniques from around the world. Please RSVP for meal planning purposes. 
Read More & RSVP Here…

Shovels out for Hazelnut tree planting at Fledgling Farmstead in Tunbridge! Help a local community farm establish a perennial fruit and nut food forest. Come plant hazelnut trees, learn specifics about planting, cultivar considerations for our climate zone, and how to use pollen charts to match cultivars. Lunch, tools, and education provided, though you’re welcome to bring your own digging shovel if you have one. Lunch will be provided, with lunchtime discussion focused on cooperative crop models. 

Work brigades are a popular educational tool used around the world to strengthen communities and build trust and solidarity through collective labor, connection, mutual aid, and knowledge sharing. Vermont’s ability to feed itself relies on thriving community-scale farms working together towards food sovereignty and community resilience. We hope you can join us! RSVP required for planning purposes. 

Read More Here…

Join us for a one-of-a-kind waterfowl on-farm slaughter workshop at Sugar Top Farm, LLC in Hyde Park, Sunday, October 11th, from 9:00 am–12:00 pm, featuring Muscovy ducks. The workshop will explore Muscovies as a sustainable protein source for the homestead, offer step-by-step slaughter and butchering instruction and demonstrations, and provide an opportunity for hands-on learning. If time and interest allow, our hosts will lead a farm tour featuring mobile poultry tractors and thriving Muscovy flocks. Registration is $75 and includes a copy of the Muscovy e-book with poultry tractor design, two printed Muscovy duck recipes, and a package of two Muscovy duck breasts for each participant. Special thanks to our sponsors: Guy’s Farm & Yard, Hunger Mountain Co-op, Middlebury Natural Foods Co-op, Northfield Savings Bank, and Southern VT Dairy Goat Association!

Learn More & Register Here…

Save the date for New Moon Orchard planting at Giant Journey Farm in Newfane! Join us to learn about companion and guild planting as we start a food forest on a community farm. Lunch provided by Saffron of Brattleboro. 

Work brigades are a popular educational tool used worldwide to strengthen communities and build trust and solidarity through collective labor, connection, mutual aid, and knowledge sharing. We provide all refreshments, education, and tools, but please bring your own (labeled) digging shovel if you have one.

Vermont’s ability to feed itself relies on thriving community-scale farms working together towards food sovereignty and community resilience. We hope you can join us! RSVP required for planning purposes. 

Learn More & Register Here…

On August 4 & 5, 2026, the White River NRCD invited farmers and the general public to the Vermont Public Banking Congress to learn from the CEO of the Bank of North Dakota, the nation’s only remaining state-owned bank today. Public banking has deep roots in American farming history, and Vermont chartered one of the nation’s earliest state-owned banks in 1806. The Vermont Invest program already leverages 12.5% of Vermont’s tax deposits through local investments…if you would like to learn more…

Read More Here…
Read the Final Full VT Public Banking Congress Report Here…

Rural Vermont invites members, friends, and neighbors to join us for a morning of eating, playing, learning, and building community at Longest Acres Farm in Chelsea on Sunday, August 30th from 10AM - Noon. Bring a pie to share and be ready to learn about the Vermont food system via pie, play some bingo to win delicious pies to take home, and maybe even chuck a mud pie or two.

Happy Summer!
The Rural Vermont office is closed for two weeks, July 13 - July 26th. We will return to the office on Monday, July 27th. Thank you for your understanding. We hope you’re having a safe and wonderful summer!

Ever wanted to learn how to build a greenhouse or high tunnel? Want to support a local trans and queer-owned farm? Join us at Magnetic Fields Farm in Athens for greenhouse construction and repair! We will be building and mending two 30’x96’ Ledgewood high tunnels. All instruction provided. Note that this brigade focuses on metal frame construction; we won’t be putting poly on (yet!). There’s additional opportunities to support weeding and trellising if that’s of more interest.

Work brigades are a popular educational tool used around the world to strengthen communities and build trust and solidarity through collective labor, connection, mutual aid, and knowledge sharing. Lunch by Jamaican Jewelz, refreshments, education, and some tools provided. If you have your own impact driver, drill, sockets with connectors, adjustable wrenches, or ladders, those are all welcome. 

Read More Here…

Please note that the previously scheduled 6/14/26 Work Brigade at Shepherd Moon Farm in Corinth has been postponed. We will provide the updated information as soon as possible. Thank you for your understanding!

Welcome to the 2026 End-of-Session Recap—your guide to the biggest wins, toughest challenges, and most memorable moments from a whirlwind legislative session. We'll break down what happened with H.941 and the municipal exemption, the evolving S.278 Cannabis Bill, and the surprising and disappointing turn of S.60, the Farm Security Special Fund, and so much more. Thanks for tuning in!
Read the 2026 End of Session Recap HERE…
Listen to the 2026 End of Session Recap HERE…

It was a long and cold winter, and how sweet it is to see the trees leafing out, the plants growing, the cows grazing, and the summer season getting underway. It’s GO time for the farmers and broader agrarian community that Rural Vermont aims to uplift and serve. And it’s GO time for Rural Vermont to launch our summer fundraising appeal that makes this work possible!

Your support today fuels Rural Vermont’s steady, grounded, and impactful work to grow relationships and cultivate community around shared values of equity and justice. This foundation builds power for – and moves us closer to – a future that feeds our soils, farmers, and neighbors.

Read the 2026 MYA Here…

Signed into law earlier this month, NH House Bill 1205, is prohibiting state and county owned lands from participating in carbon sequestration projects! Vermont is not regulating carbon markets and does not have any regulatory protections that prevent NGOs like the Nature Conservancy to enrich themselves through Vermont based Carbon Programs that create biodiversity credits from computer models to greenwash (out of state) industrial pollution. 

Read More about the Financialization of Nature Here…

On Friday, May 22, VTDigger published an op-ed by our Legislative Director, Caroline Sherman-Gordon: “Vermont’s new farming legislation leaves small livestock operations vulnerable.” In her commentary, Caroline explains the context behind H.941 and highlights our concerns about rolling back protections for small homesteaders. She also raises important questions about how these changes could weaken food security and local self-reliance, especially as Vermont pursues aggressive conservation goals and new food security mandates.

Read Caroline’s Op-Ed Here…