Cedar Mountain Farm

25A Linden Rd, Hartland, VT
802-436-1448
cedarmountainfarm.org
Art by Janet McKenzie

Products: Milk, cheese, beef, vegetables, herbs

Where to buy: Order online and pick up, farm stand open Thursdays year round, milk available 7 days a week.

Advocating for necessary policy change

Many farmers have clear visions for how to grow food, address the climate crisis, and support our ecosystems in this age of constant change. But like any complex problem, individual action is not enough. We need systems change. Farmers are perfect people to clearly and passionately advocate for systems change within our states, our region, and the country.

Stephen Leslie and Kerry Gawalt of Cedar Mountain Farm have been advocating for changes in agricultural policy for decades. “Settler occupation of Vermont and the felling of the ancient forests, along with the subsequent 250 years of extractive ‘land use’ patterns, have had a devastating impact on ecosystem health,” Stephen shared. “If we are to effect the truly transformational system changes required to survive and even thrive in this era of irreversible abrupt climate change, we need to understand the shortcomings of current land management practices and realize how degraded our baseline landscape function really is. The work of a conscientious land manager in our time is the work of restoration and repair.”

Investing in restoration and repair is not a simple or cheap choice. “We need society to recognize that we are frontline workers in a climate and biodiversity emergency, and that we need to be compensated for all this work that we’re doing — to be incentivized so we can do it more deeply and profoundly, and afford to pay young people a living wage so that they can come work on the farm and learn these skills that we’re gleaning.”

There are many avenues to advocate for these policies at the national and state level.

“Nationally, agricultural policy is orchestrated through the Farm Bill. On a state level, get engaged with legislation that promotes nature-based solutions for mitigating and adapting to climate change. Conservation of farm and forest land is the first critical step to set us on a transformative path towards a re-localized, sovereign food system and a restored climate-resilient habitat.“