For Farmers - Vital Communities

Welcome Farmers!

This is a great time to be farming, and the Upper Valley is a great place to farm! Thriving farms are critical to vital communities, so we support farmers and farm success in many ways, including marketing assistance, land and capital access, strengthening our regional food system, and increasing community connection to our working lands. Read below and get in touch to see how we can increase farm success and community resilience.

What’s Available for Farmers

Subscribe to the Farmer E-News & Upper Valley Farmer Listserv

The Farmer E-News is a monthly email of grants, trainings, opportunities, and resources to help you and your farm thrive.

You can also join the uvfarming listserv, an online forum for sharing and learning about opportunities by and for Upper Valley farmers and food producers! Simply send a blank email to:
uvfarming-subscribe@lists.vitalcommunities.org

Peer-to-Peer Organic Farming Mentorship

Want to gain skills in organic farming? Or do you have skills to teach? The Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP) is actively seeking to match experienced and knowledgeable certified organic producers (Mentors) who are passionate about organic production and interested in sharing their expertise with TOPP Mentees, who are transitioning producers who have existing farming operations where they are currently employees, managers, or owners. This is the first year of a five-year program. Vital Communities is part of an organizational collective that has partnered with NOFA-NH, a Core Partner in the Northeast Region for the Transition to Organic Partnership Program (TOPP).

Learn More and Apply

The Farmer And Rancher Stress Assistance Network is a national program aimed toward connecting people who work in farming and ranching across the country to stress assistance programs. Both Vermont and New Hampshire have their own state chapters of this national program.

Learn More

The Farm Labor Dashboard- Tips, Tools, and Techniques to effectively recruit, hire, train, and retain workers

Good decision-making around the type and amount of labor needed on a farm enhances the farm household’s quality of life and increases the likelihood farmers will successfully meet their financial goals. This site provides tools and strategies to help small and medium-sized produce and diversified livestock farms make informed labor decisions.

Learn More

Farming & Climate Change

Upper Valley farmers are critical as we respond to and prepare for climate change. Farms strengthen natural resources, bolster our self-sufficiency, and improve social and environmental resilience. Find resources for implementing climate-smart practices and marketing tools for sharing the story of how agriculture is key to addressing climate change.

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Learn More

Be Listed in The Vital Guide

Is your farm or food business listed in The Vital Guide? Don’t delay – add it today!

Be Listed in the Guide

Farmer Resources

There are abundant valuable resources for aspiring farmers and seasoned business owners available including business and financial planning assistance, production techniques, marketing ideas, and much more.

Learn More

Recipes for Local Food

Eat Upper Valley Foods all year long with these recipes, cooking tips, and techniques. Our Recipe Library focuses on foods that are grown here, and can browsed as a whole or searched through based on a particular ingredient.

Upper Valley farmers: We encourage you to copy and paste these recipes and techniques into your farm newsletters, websites, social media posts, or other communication to customers. Please retain attributions for recipes and photos to respect copyright, whether from Vital Communities or others.

See Recipes