Join the Protect Our Soils Coalition and support H.501 - An act relating to the regulation of food depackaging facilities - NOW! H.501 is currently in the Senate Committee on Natural Resources - the committee who originally drafted the bill language. The committee is VERY busy and needs to hear that this issue is a priority for Vermonters in order to prioritize working on passing this bill out of committee in time.
During our Small Farm Action Day with NOFA-VT on March 24th, farmers, itinerant slaughterers, customers of on-farm slaughtered livestock, as well as farm business advisors and advocates, testified in a joint hearing of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees. Rural Vermont staff thanks all farmers and local food advocates who took the time and testified. Read the full report and learn more about threats to Vermont’s on-farm slaughter law HERE.
For the latest updates on bills Rural Vermont is following, read our blog post, HERE.
We’re seeking a Grassroots Organizing Intern for Summer 2022: Work with Rural Vermont’s Policy Team to conduct in-the-field grassroots organizing with family farmers and their communities! See the full position description and how to apply HERE. Applications are due 4/30/22.
In a recent letter to the State of Vermont, the USDA’s Food Safety & Inspection Service (FSIS) continued to render an opinion that Vermont's practice of on-farm slaughter does not meet FSIS' interpretation of the federal law. The letter arrived without letterhead or a signature and used language that is blatantly contradictory. The letter further negates the existence of Vermont's on-farm slaughter law by stating: “the personal use exemption requires all owners to be individuals who were involved in the raising of the animal” AND “There is no provision in the statute or regulations allowing the use of third-party itinerant slaughterers under the personal use exemption.”
Learn more and see members of the on-farm slaughter community testify in front of Ag Committee members at our recent Small Farm Action Day event!
If you are a farmer, farm worker, or just someone who eats, the policy decisions made by our legislature impact you! Join NOFA-VT, Rural Vermont and Action Circles for a series of advocacy days starting in February to learn more about the legislative process and speak directly to the elected officials making policy that shapes Vermont's food and farming systems. Starting on February 10th and continuing through April, these monthly events are a great opportunity to have your voice heard in the legislative process, and to get some training from "the experts" on how to deliver your message effectively.
2022 is off to a running start! Here are some highlights to check out:
Policy updates on: VT’s Hemp Program, cannabis, and the 2022 Legislative Session
What did we accomplish in 2021? Read our Year End Policy Update to find out. Here’s to another great year in 2022, and thanks, as always, to the leadership and guidance of our farmer members and partners, the strength and resolve of our coalitions, and the support of our broader network.
Rural Vermont's work is guided, fueled, and funded by our community. Our biggest and most important fundraiser of the year starts now!
Please make your donation today and join us in advancing our shared vision of a just and equitable world rooted in reverence for the earth and dignity for all. Read our full appeal for your support HERE.
On November 10, 2021, the Rural Vermont community convened (virtually) for its Annual Meeting. We so enjoyed seeing so many new and familiar faces, and look forward to when we can be together again in person.
It was a busy meeting! Here are some highlights:
Elected new and returning Board members! Meet our current Board Members here.
Amended our By-Laws, including the insertion of our NEW mission and vision statements.
Shared our new Strategic Plan and Anti-Racism Policy.
Celebrated the life of Dexter Randall, Rural Vermont Board Member Emeritus. You can learn more about Dexter’s history with RV at the bottom of the Board webpage.
Rural VT and its allies in the VT Cannabis Equity Coalition have submitted our public comments to the Cannabis Control Board (CCB) for its rulemaking process, and in support of a cannabis economy in Vermont which is racially just, economically equitable, agriculturally accessible, and environmentally sound. Please let the CCB know that you support our recommendations, and provide them with your feedback and personal concerns, ideas, and experiences through the public comment portal.
“Rural Vermont stands in solidarity with the Palestinian people and condemns the Israeli State’s systemic human rights violations, discrimination, and the illegal occupation and blockade of Palestine which has now affected generations of Palestinians and the lands of Palestine…We stand in struggle and solidarity to exert peasant rights and the rights of landless peoples to pursue food sovereignty as part of our liberation.”
Read our full Statement of Solidarity with Palestine & Support for Actions by Ben & Jerry’s Inc..
Fundamental changes are needed to ensure that healthcare financing and delivery systems serve the people of Vermont, realize their right to health, and advance equity. We join the call in asking the legislature to fulfill its obligations under Act 48 to finance universal, publicly financed health care, review the state audit of the current All-Payer model that is currently driving up healthcare costs for Vermont residents, and hold public hearings to enable the public to speak directly to the Task Force. Read the full letter, including background and more details on our requests.
Join us in this year's on-farm slaughter workshop series, which this year includes a poultry offering as well!
Livestock Slaughter and Processing Workshops with Mary Lake - Learn more and register!
Strafford Village Farm in Strafford 10/17/21
AJ’s Happy Chick Farm in Albany 12/05/21
Poultry Slaughter and Processing Workshop with Elizabeth Roma - Learn more and register!
Putting Down Roots Farm in South Royalton 11/6/21
Click here to check out our recent work, including some good news and significant gains! Together we are cultivating more autonomy over our food and lands, while serving our communities and each other.
Good news regarding Close-the-Nutrient-Loop!
On-farm composting of food residuals will now be recognized as a farming practice with the passage of S.102 into law today! The Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets will issue a rule making process for the practice and has now the authority to regulate soil amendments, plant amendments and plant biostimulants aside from fertilizers that are already under their purview. This will allow farmers to Close-The-Nutrient-Loop by creating valuable composts for soil enhancement while also providing AAFM with the oversight to keep plastics out of Vermont soils.
Learn more here!
2020 was a heck of a year, but we have a lot to be proud of. Check out our 2020 Impact Report to learn more about Rural Vermont and the highlights of our year. We look forward to continuing this work with our wonderful community of members and supporters - we couldn’t do it without you!
USDA has reopened sign-up for CFAP 2 for at least 60 days beginning on April 5, 2021.
Learn more HERE!
Rural Vermont is part of a coalition supporting H.430, the Doctor Dinosaur Expansion bill, which would expand coverage to income-eligible children and pregnant people regardless of immigration status. The bill recently passed the House and Senate and is now its way to the Governor to be signed into law! Read more about the bill and the coalition that supports it in this overview from Vermont Legal Aid.
Throughout the past year, the COVID-19 pandemic has created a crushing bottleneck in VT slaughterhouses as more and more people have begun to seek out and produce local meat. With many slaughterhouses fully booked for at least the next year, Rural Vermont is seeking out strategies to alleviate pressure on meat processors and to allow farmers to continue providing fresh, local meat to their communities. In Rural Vermont’s recent on-farm slaughter survey, participants were asked what they thought the best strategies were to achieve this goal.
Read the results HERE!