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…

In partnership with UVM Extension 4-H, Rural Vermont, the People's Agroecology School, and Vermont Woodlands Association, join us for a hands-on tractor safety day. Youth 14 and up may participate in this training and are eligible to earn their certification under the National Safe Tractor and Machinery Operation Program (caregivers will need to sign a waiver for their participation). An inclusive space, but designed for women and youth.

The day will include small group, hands-on instruction on tractor safety, including backing up, understanding the clutch, PTO safety, center of gravity considerations, and more. We'll stop to eat lunch and socialize together. Lunch will be made by VYCC and provided by Rural Vermont. Space is limited, registration required.

Read More & Register Here…

Before this week's rainy spring days slip away and we turn to welcome the first sunny days of summer, we hope you’ll embrace a bit of extra indoor time and browse our 2025 Impact Report, a snapshot marking the close of our fortieth year together. We traveled all over the state, reconnected with familiar faces and leaders from years gone by, and lifted the new voices who will shape the future. We hope you enjoy flipping through this little keepsake from our fortieth year—reminding us where we started, who we are, and the exciting places we’re headed to next.

Read the 2025 Impact Report Here…

Rural Vermont is working with representatives from NOFA-VT, the Vermont Farm Bureau, Agri-Mark, Cabot, the Vermont Dairy Producers Alliance, the Vermont Association of Conservation Districts, the Connecticut River Watershed Farmers Alliance, Farm to Plate, and the Land Access and Opportunity Board in an attempt to restore the municipal exemption for farming this legislative session. As of the 2025 Vermont Supreme Court decision, municipalities can now regulate farms (outside of water quality) and decide where farming is allowed.

Two bills address this issue, H.941 and S.323. Our coalition is still working towards a compromise between the two versions of the bill that protects farmers, respects communities, safeguards water quality, and builds a stronger, more resilient food system for Vermont’s future. One key issue is that protections for farms under 1 acre — and especially certain types of agriculture—are not guaranteed yet.

There’s been a lot of debate around small-scale livestock, and while that’s being pushed to a study committee, we want to make sure that activities like raising rabbits, beekeeping, and mushroom cultivation are clearly protected from local zoning restrictions. That’s why your voice is really important right now- we are looking for testimony and written support!
Read More Here…

A recording of our 3/24 webinar is now available! This webinar provides an overview of our coalition’s proposal on the municipal exemption and was presented on March 24, 2026 by: Rural Vermont, Vermont Farm Bureau, Agri Mark, Cabot, the Vermont Dairy Producers Alliance, NOFA-VT, the Vermont Association of Conservation Districts, the Connecticut River Watershed Farmers Alliance, Farm to Plate, and the Land Access and Opportunity Board. Webinar passcode: QE4B+9sa

Watch Here…

Come hang out with Rural Vermont and friends for a relaxed evening of book readings and conversation with Alexis Lathem (Lambs in Winter) and Teresa Mares (Will Work for Food)! We'll chat about farming, food, activism, and the awesome people who make it all happen. Join these two Vermont-based authors as we dive into the connections between food, farming, labor, and the real stories behind our food system.

Tuesday, March 24th
6:00pm - 7:15pm
Kellogg Hubbard Library
Hayes Room

Montpelier

This event is free; registration is encouraged!

Read More Here…