UVM Food Feed

Farmer Training Student Taps into His Entrepreneurial Side

Posted by Erica Houskeeper | October 18, 2019

Sam O’Brien comes from a family of dairy farmers.

His paternal great-grandparents ran a dairy farm in North Ferrisburg, and O’Brien grew up hearing stories about his father’s childhood on the family farm.

farmer training certificate

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Posted in Education, UVM, Vermont | Tagged farmer training program, farming, local foods, UVM | Leave a comment

UVM Alumna MJ Pickett Realizes Her Power in the Food System

Posted by Erica Houskeeper | September 23, 2019

MJ Pickett knows she can make a change.

The UVM alumna, who graduated in 2010 with a degree in Natural Resources Management, grows vegetables and raises hogs with her husband at their farm in Gunnison, Colorado. Their farm, Calder Farm Ltd., produces pork, root crops, and cut flowers. The couple started their farm in 2016 and sells their products at farmers’ markets, a CSA, and to local restaurants.

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Posted in Education, Environmental, UVM | Tagged breakthrough leaders program, education, farming, local foods | Leave a comment

Grazing Amongst the Grapevines

Posted by Guest Author | July 10, 2019

By Rachel Leslie

In addition to sipping award-winning wines, visitors to Shelburne Vineyard in nearby Shelburne, Vermont, this spring could be found taking selfies with sheep. That’s because the vineyard was home to a flock of five Suffolk sheep happily grazing on the grass beneath the grapevines.

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Posted in Environmental, UVM, Vermont | Tagged academic research, Environment, research, UVM, Vermont | Leave a comment

Vermont Food Co-ops Meet Need for Local Food from Community

Posted by Guest Author | June 4, 2019

By Shane Rogers
Rooted in Vermont Project Manager

It’s a safe bet that no matter where one finds themselves in Vermont, they’re not too far away from a Vermont food co-op. Boasting the highest number of stores per capita, Vermont’s 15 food co-ops have established themselves as pillars of their communities along with being drivers of the state’s local food movement.

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Posted in Vermont | Tagged local food, local foods, Vermont | Leave a comment

UVM Is: Martha Caswell Advocates for Agroecology

Posted by Erica Houskeeper | May 7, 2019

Countries around the world, from Senegal to Brazil and the Netherlands, are embracing agroecology to achieve a more sustainable food system and adapt to climate change. But one place where agroecology has yet to go mainstream is the United States.

Martha Caswell, research and outreach coordinator for the UVM Agroecology and Livelihoods Collaborative (ALC), understands that there are challenges that accompany the growth in agroecology. However, she also sees its promise as people around the world are fundamentally rethinking and redesigning food systems, based on agroecological principles.