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State’s federal lands may face new pressures from Washington
The Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont. USDA photo A rule change the U.S. House recently passed removes a major roadblock in the process of transferring federal land to states, local communities...
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Vermont Law School receives $17 million federal loan
Debevoise Hall on the Vermont Law School campus in South Royalton. File photo by Josh Larkin/VTDigger (This story by Matt Hongoltz-Hetling first appeared in the Valley News on May 6, 2017.) ROYALTON —...
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‘No friends at an auction’: Cows, machinery sold to clear debt
Potential bidders gather around as Tom Hosking, of Hosking Sales LLC, center, auctions equipment Saturday at Milky Way Farm in Ira. Photo by Alan J. Keays/VTDiggerIRA — The 108 head of cattle are gone....
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Trump taps Rutland treasurer for federal post in Vermont
Rutland City Treasurer Wendy L. Wilton in her office at City Hall. File photo by Andrew Kutches/VTDigger RUTLAND — City Treasurer Wendy Wilton has been appointed by the Trump administration to a...
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Invasive plants on the rise in Vermont
Japanese Knotweed. Photo courtesy KENPEI, Wikimedia Commons Ever had phytophotodermatitis? If you had, you’d probably know it: blisters, reddened skin like second-degree burns, terrible discomfort. The...
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State food assistance program to be docked $370,000
State officials confirmed Thursday that 3SquaresVT, the state’s food stamp program that has been plagued by high error rates in recent years, will be penalized for the third year in a row. The penalty...
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Woolf: Despite improving economy, many Vermonters receive food stamps
Approximately 68,000 Vermonters live in households receiving food stamps, about 10.9% of the state’s population. Creative Commons photo Art Woolf is a columnist for VTDigger. He recently retired as an...
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Authorities investigate shipments of mysterious seeds to Vermonters
An unsolicited packet of seeds believed to have been sent from China. Vermont Agency of Agriculture photo State and federal authorities are investigating “hundreds” of complaints from Vermonters who...
View ArticleUSDA approves program to feed kids in Vermont, three other states
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced Wednesday that Vermont has been approved to offer a supplemental food benefit program in order to help families pay for meals that children would...
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Vermont’s maple syrup production fell by 21% this year
Danny Potter checks the consistency of syrup while boiling sap at his family’s sugarhouse in Sharon in 2016. Photo by Sarah Priestap/Valley News Vermont produced 21% less maple syrup in 2021 than the...
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Vermont Housing Conservation Board allocates $2.53 million to land and...
The Vermont Housing and Conservation Board awarded a $225,000 grant to the Vermont Land Trust and the Town of Hinesburg this week to expand and protect the Hinesburg town forest, seen here July 28,...
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USDA announces support to cover certification costs for organic producers
Cows head back to the barn at Elysian Fields, an organic dairy farm in Shoreham owned by Joe and Kathleen Hescock, on Wednesday, September 15, 2021. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger The U.S. Department...
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USDA finalizes ‘origin of livestock’ rule to close an organic loophole and...
A herd of about 50 cows on an organic dairy farm in Morristown, Vermont, earlier this month. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has decided to close a loophole in the National Organic Program, a...
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So far, avian flu hasn’t significantly impacted Vermont’s bird populations
Bald eagle. Photo via Pexels When Jakie Devoid, co-owner of Maple Meadows farm in Salisbury, heard reports that the avian flu had reached Vermont earlier this spring, she was nervous. Maple Meadows...
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Federal funds help ease a rural health care crisis but challenges remain
Springfield Hospital in June 2019. File photo by Mike Dougherty/VTDigger SPRINGFIELD — Leaders in Vermont health care and directors from four health care organizations gathered on Thursday to discuss...
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Vermont meat processor expands with $1.1 million federal grant
Employees of Vermont Livestock Slaughter and Processing in Ferrisburgh butcher meat on Nov. 21. Photo courtesy Vermont Agency of Agriculture Carl Cushing owns Vermont Livestock Slaughter and...
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Montpelier continues wastewater plant upgrades with help from federal money
Sam Campbell-Nelson, an operator at the Montpelier Water Resource Recovery Facility, checks the level of sludge at the bottom of a clarifying tank on Tuesday, January 3, 2023. Photo by Glenn...
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Inflation, supply-chain issues are driving up egg prices around Vermont
A chicken in Burke in January 2023. Photo by Kate O’Farrell Jon Lussier has been selling eggs from his small flock to neighbors and locals around the Hardwick area for years. Now, with the price of...
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‘Lost my love for farming’: The fate of dozens of small organic dairy farms...
Damien Boomhower does the morning milking at Bittersweet Valley Farm in Fairfield on Tuesday, Feb. 7. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger Damien Boomhower and his wife, Jessica, hoped to celebrate their...
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NEK Broadband to receive $17.5 million from feds to connect most remote parts...
The U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry’s Subcommittee on Rural Development and Energy meets on Wednesday, May 17. Screenshot NEK Broadband is receiving $17.5 million from...
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A season of torment for farmers who rely on hay
Due to wet weather this summer, Chip Kendall has only put up 325 bales of hay for horse feed at his Kedron Valley Stables in South Woodstock, Vt. Photo by James M. Patterson/Valley News This article...
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USDA approves disaster declaration for Vermont farmers after July floods
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack (center) is joined by Sen. Patrick Leahy (right) and other officials at a news conference in 2014 at ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center in Burlington....
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Peter Welch unveils new legislation to help organic dairy farmers
U.S. Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., announces the introduction of a new bill that would benefit organic dairy farms alongside members of Organic Valley and the Northeast Organic Farmers Association of...
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Sayles & Horton: For many Vermonters, it’s much harder to afford food
This commentary is by John Sayles of Montpelier, of the Vermont Foodbank, and Anore Horton of Williston, of Hunger Free Vermont. A recent U.S. Department of Agriculture report on food insecurity and...
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Farmers association presses pause on popular local food access program
A person shops at the Jericho Farmers Market at Mills Riverside Park on May 27, 2021. File photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger Facing a funding shortfall driven by unprecedented demand, the Northeast...
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Nonprofit celebrates purchase of Clemmons Family Farm in Charlotte
The big barn from the 1770s at the Clemmons Family Farm in Charlotte. Courtesy photo Lydia Clemmons has “magical” memories growing up on her family’s working farm in Charlotte. One thing that stands...
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Vermont Christmas tree farms grapple with a tight supply this year
Peter and Caryn Halvorsen pull their Christmas tree on a sled at the Isham Family Farm in Williston on Tuesday. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger Now that the countdown to Christmas is in full force,...
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