By Jeff Wakefield
UVM Communications
According to a new U.S. Department of Agriculture-funded study, lack of access to affordable health insurance is one of the most significant concerns facing American farmers, an overlooked risk factor that affects their ability to run a successful enterprise.
Along the backroads of the small town of Northfield is Green Mountain Girls Farm, where Laura Olsen UVM ’92 and Mari Omland grow vegetables, raise pigs and turkeys, host farm stays, and run a popular farm stand.
This summer, Analiese Morvan, a Northfield native and incoming first-year UVM student, and Rose Thackeray, UVM ’17, of Warren, are working at the farm, learning everything from harvesting vegetables to caring for livestock.
Green Mountain Girls Farm owner Laura Olsen, left, with incoming UVM student Analiese Morvan and recent graduate Rose Thackeray.
Agroecology is finding a mainstream audience in the world of international food and agricultural policy. For Professor Ernesto Méndez, that’s good news.
By Cheryl Herrick
In Vermont and across New England, prime farmland is both scarce and expensive. Many farmers are at or approaching retirement age. Young farmers face daunting challenges as they try to establish their agricultural enterprises.
One critical, and complicated, part of these challenges is finding ways to successfully transfer farmland from those who own it to those who seek to farm on it. Ben Waterman of the UVM Extension Center for Sustainable Agriculture serves as Land Access Coordinator, and in that capacity, helps to support both farm-seekers and landowners in Vermont.
By Sharon Palmer
Until recently, the Fair Trade label was only seen on products from farms outside the United States. That all changed when Wholesum Harvest, a family-owned farm located in Nogales, Arizona, was certified by Fair Trade USA.
Fair Trade certification is available for products ranging from clothing to seafood, and everything in between, according to an NPR story, Not Just For Foreign Foods: Fair-Trade Label Comes To U.S. Farms.
