Join Rural Vermont and partner organizations National Family Farm Coalition (NFFC), Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance (FARFA), and Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FTCLDF) in urging Congress to support clarifying language to the Federal Meat Inspection Act’s (FMIA) personal-use-exemption that will affirm state laws - like Vermont’s! - that allow for on-farm slaughter without state or federal meat inspection. Read more and sign on here!
We want to thank all our members for making Rural Vermont's 2022 Annual Meeting a great success and evening! We welcomed new Board members, enjoyed an incredible meal of Shepherd's Pie featuring New Grass Farmstead mutton, shared memories of Carl Russell, celebrated the highlights of our past year, and (re-)connected with friends and supporters from near and far! Read the full recap here.
On Tuesday, November 1, 2022 from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM, Rural Vermont is again partnering with experts at Vermont Legal Aid to offer farmer-specific support around all things related to healthcare plan enrollment. The goal is for this webinar to be tailored to the needs of the farming community. Free and open to all. Please register (required!) and submit your healthcare questions about these topics and more in advance so we can do our best to cover everything!
On Saturday, November 5, 2022 from 11:00AM - 2:00PM at Union Brook Farm in Northfield, Emily Virzi and Rose Thackeray of Union Brook Farm in Northfield teach participants to slaughter, butcher and process turkey in a way to get the best results for a succulent turkey. Registration fee is on a sliding scale ($45-75), with a recommended price of $60. Participants get to take home ground turkey! Limited capacity, register now!
It's been a long time since Rural Vermont's members gathered in person for our annual meeting, but 2022 is the year this treasured tradition returns! Please mark your calendar and plan to join us for: Rural Vermont's Annual Meeting & Celebration on Saturday, October 22nd from 5-8pm at the Bethel Town Hall. Rural Vermont's staff, Board, and members will gather for a night to remember with music, a shared meal, art-making, and more. We'll be electing new members to the Board and honoring Carl Russell, Rural Vermont Board Member Emeritus who passed away this summer. Find more details and RSVP today!
Our policy, education, and organizing work is rooted in what we hear from our community members, and the community members of our organizational allies. In order to provide more opportunity for you - our members - to provide input to, and to ask questions directly of, our staff members, we’ve decided to offer online forums at least four times a year. The next Quarterly Forum is Wednesday, Dec. 14th from 7-8:30pm. Learn more and register today!
Thank you for being part of Rural Vermont’s community! Help us amplify the momentum we’ve built together with your special gift today. Right now, every donation is being matched dollar for dollar. Double your gift and impact! Read our full appeal for your support HERE.
Rarely have we seen as many bills related to agriculture and forestry as in the 2022 session - we covered 19+ bills that were either directly related to our policy priorities, that we supported, provided testimony for, or monitored for you, our constituents, members and supporters. More importantly, these bills have not just been introduced, but the majority of them have made it through passage by the general assembly. Read all about it in our final Legislative Update for 2022 HERE!
Rural Vermont's 2021 Impact Report is here! We are happy to report that, over the last year, Rural Vermont has strengthened our organizational foundation and celebrated several key policy gains. Alongside and because of our community, we've made great progress in advancing our collective work to build healthy, resilient, and equitable food systems. Thank you for being part of this community that guides, fuels and funds our efforts.
Enjoy the short read - packed with photos, testimonials, and highlights - and please let us know what you think!
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..