VITAL COMMUNITIES
New Farmer Resources
This is a great time to be farming!
There are an abundance of valuable resources available to farmers including business planning assistance, production techniques, marketing ideas, supplier recommendations, and many more. Valley Food & Farm staff are available for one on one advising as well.
Valley Food & Farm staff are able help with your specific situation or question. We work with farmers who are in the dreaming/planning stage, just starting out, and/or growing their farm business.
Nancy LaRowe, our Valley Food & Farm Coordinator, is our farmer-in-residence.
Give her a call at 802.291.9100 x106 or email, she is happy to help with:
- Individual consultation, focused on making an action plan to start or enhance your farm business
- Directing you to resources if you are having trouble figuring out who to call for help in a specific area
- Linking you to technical assistance within our New Farmer Network for business planning, production assistance, land access, access to capital, legal concerns, and many other topics.
“It’s so amazing to know that there is such a wonderful support network here in the UV to help farmers get on track and stay on track.”
“I cannot overstate how much their programs have contributed to our success. Before purchasing our farm I participated in Vital Communities’ learning collaborative and attended one of their farmer meet-ups. I learned a lot of different techniques and was exposed to many ideas as I visited area farms and learned directly from the farmers and their employees. This also helped me build up a strong network with other local farmers, both new and experienced. I continue to use the connections I made at those events whenever I encounter a problem.
Those connections also allowed me to expand sales. I began selling my pork through another local farm and that is now my second biggest sales outlet for pork.”
Funding for our new farmer advising is made possible in part with a Rural Development Enterprise Grant from USDA Rural Development.
Oppportunities
Farm Worker Learning Collaborative
Educational and social opportunity for future farmers.
Valley Food & Farm News
Whole Farm Planning Group
Starting or running a farm business can be all-consuming, with tyranny of the urgent monopolizing your days, leaving little time to think about the bi [...]
2018 Farmer Celebration Mixer
Join us to celebrate the work we did together in 2018!
Do your chores early, leave the spreadsheets behind, and come share some beer, crepes, and far [...]
Farmers’ Market Roundtable
Join Vital Communities and NOFA VT for a
Farmers' Market Roundtable
November 7, 2018 from 4-7 pm
at the Wilder Club & Library in Hartford, Verm [...]
Flavors of the Valley 2018
Registration is open for the 17th annual Flavors of the Valley, the Upper Valley’s premier local food tasting expo. With 50+ vendors and more than [...]
Learn What Farm Workers are Looking for in Job
As part of a Northeast SARE Partnership grant to help farmers solve the challenge of finding and keeping farm labor we surveyed surrent farm staff to [...]
Farm Scale Decision Making Workshop
Are you evaluating a major change to your business model such as scaling up or dropping an enterprise?
Are you struggling to determine how that c [...]
Farmer Celebration Mixer
Join us to celebrate the work we did together in 2017!
Do your chores early, leave the spreadsheets behind, and come share some beer, crepes, and far [...]
Food Hub Meeting Notes
The goal of the activities during the food hub meeting was to collect information from participants about pain points in the food system and prioriti [...]
Upper Valley Farm & Food Processing Resources
We hosted a well-attended food hub conversation at King Arthur Flour in September where more than 65 people engaged in conversations around the need [...]
Upper Valley Food Hub Meeting
Does the Upper Valley Need a Shared
Farm & Food Facility?
Join us on September 26
to share your ideas at an
Upper Valley Food Hub Meeting
Ki [...]
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