HPAI in Dairy Cows
An Emerging Animal Health Issue
Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and State veterinary and public health officials are investigating an illness among primarily older dairy cows. Vermont is monitoring the situation as it develops. Currently, no cases have been detected in Vermont and no links to affected states have been identified.
The Latest Updates and Vermont Resources Can Be Found Here
‘No-Mow-May’ Lets Pollinators Play!
By Brooke Decker, Vt Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets
An increasingly popular conservation initiative called ‘No-Mow-May’ is blooming across the nation. This initiative follows the ‘less-is-more’ wisdom we often hear from our parents and is now a popular environmental mantra of the day. By simply eliminating or sharply reducing the mowing of your lawn and allowing more flowers to bloom offers bees and other pollinators a wonderful playground of floral resources at a critical time in their lifecycle. Studies have shown this simple act can increase abundance and diversity of wildlife in your yard, especially pollinators.
‘No-Mow-May’ will allow you the time to enjoy observing the diversity of nature in your lawn. Dandelions are often the most noticeable of the spring lawn flowers. They provide abundant nutritional resources for pollinators, especially bees. Observing flowers during a sunny day will display numerous insect guests. Honey bees, bumble bees, or some of Vermont’s other 400 native bee species are likely visitors.
As the love for your lawn flowers grows, you might consider mowing less frequently the rest of the year. When mowing becomes necessary, setting the cut height of 4-5 inches allows for better habitat regrowth and continued pollinator benefits during the summer months. Consider turning your lawn into a “bee lawn” by seeding Dutch clover and other low growing flowering plants like creeping thyme, self-heal and native violets.
For a real-life pollinator paradise, consider ‘No-Mow-May’!
Image: Breakfast on the Farm in 2022 welcomed over 1300 visitors to the Gosliga Farm in Addison.
Business Planning for Agritourism Enterprises
By Kristen Brassard, VT Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets
Business planning is vital for agritourism ventures, just as it is for any enterprise. In this blog, we'll explore why having a solid plan is crucial, discuss key considerations when crafting one for your agritourism business, and introduce an easy-to-use online tool to guide you through the process.
What is business planning and why is it important?
Business planning is the process of outlining the goals, strategies, and actions needed to achieve success in a business venture. It involves setting objectives, assessing resources and potential challenges, and developing a roadmap for how your business will operate and grow over time.
The purpose of business planning is to provide clarity, direction, and a framework for decision-making to guide your business toward its objectives. However, it’s not only about the finished product. Engaging in the process of business planning allows you to thoroughly evaluate your ideas, commit them to paper, and see them come together in a cohesive strategy. This process serves as a crucial form of risk management, providing you the opportunity to test the viability of your concepts and make necessary adjustments.
If you have ever sought out any sort of funding to support your business, whether through grants or loan programs, you have probably been asked to provide a business plan. Lenders and grantors want to know that you have dedicated time to strategizing your long-term goals and can demonstrate proof of concept. Even if you already possess a business plan for your farm, it’s important to revisit this process for any new ventures you want to include, such as agritourism.
More Agritourism Business Planning Information Here
Farm Structures and How They’re Regulated
Image: A hoophouse in progress. Contact your Town Clerk or Zoning Administrator with a town plan before constructing a farm structure.
By Noah Gilbert-Fuller, VT Agency of Agriculture, Food & Markets
Spring is the time for construction across Vermont farms, with warm weather bringing thoughts of improvements and additions needed around the farm. Questions often come up when a farmer is planning to put up a structure about where farm structures can be located, what kinds of permits they may need, and what activities can be done with the structure. Farms planning to build a structure should look towards the Required Agricultural Practices (RAPs) to see what requirements, rules and exemptions may apply.
Vermont farms as defined in the RAPs are required to comply with regulations for agricultural practices, which includes the construction and maintenance of farm structures. A farm structure is defined as any structure used to carry out farming practices, including the storage of agricultural equipment, wastes, feed and fertilizers, the keeping of animals, the storage, preparation and sale of agricultural products produced on the farm, and greenhouse structures.
Farms and farm activities that are regulated by the RAPs are exempt from regulation under local bylaws. That means no agricultural activity on a property that has been determined to meet the definition of a farm can be restricted or prohibited by a town, since those activities are instead regulated by the Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets. Farm structures also gain exemptions from bylaws that would require permitting for construction. However, per the RAPs, farm structures must still meet any setback requirements established by their town.
Setbacks can determine how far a structure must be from the front, sides, and back of a property facing a road, and other specific places depending on which zoning district you’re in. Towns may also adopt overlay districts, such as flood hazard or natural resource districts, that apply to a targeted area across multiple districts and may come with additional setback standards. Check in with your local Zoning Administrator or Town Clerk if you have questions about which setbacks apply to your property.
Before construction on a farm structure begins, farms are required to send a copy of a site plan for their structure to their local Zoning Administrator or Town Clerk for review. Site plans must include the dimensions of the proposed structure and setback distances from property lines. In certain cases, structures that do not meet the required setback distances due to circumstances related to the land that cause challenges for the farmer, farms may submit a request for a setback variance for their structure.
While planning for this year’s growing season, keep in mind the resources and information available from the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets regarding farm structures and how they are regulated. Information about the definitions of farms, farming, farm structures and setback variances can be found at https://agriculture.vermont.gov/water-quality/regulations/farm-definitions-and-determinations.
For any questions around the Required Agricultural Practices, contact Noah Gilbert-Fuller at [email protected] or at 802-505-3407.
Read More May 2024 Agriview Articles Here
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