Photo by Andy Duback for the Burlington Free Press, 2012.
The eclectic group of students in UVM’s Farmer Training Program — comprised of engineers, financiers and recent college grads — was highlighted in this weekend’s edition of the Burlington Free Press.
Here’s a taste of the article:
“The program teaches students how to drive a tractor, build a shed and cultivate in the green house before field planting. Students take classes from UVM professors and local farmers. They do regular work-and-learn rotations on nearby farms to see how different farmers tackle different problems.
‘They all get the basics and they all get a chance to decide whether they like it or not,’ said Laura Williams, farm coordinator for the program.
The first year, the program taught 12 students who cultivated less than an acre. This year 18 students are cultivating more than three and one-half acres and expect to take in about $15,000 in sales. The food is sold to six kitchens at UVM and to the public Tuesday afternoons at a farmer’s market in front of the Bailey Howe Library on the main UVM campus.
Interest in the program is growing, said Williams, who has a degree in agroecology from the University of California, Santa Cruz and operated her own small-scale veggie farm in Westford for several years.
‘I think there’s been a resurgence in the food movement. People are realizing that food doesn’t have to be a hobby. It can be a career.’'”
Read the full article, “Growing Season,” at BurlingtonFreePress.com.
