Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Perrigo Company plc (NYSE: PRGO), with a major plant in Georgia, Vermont, announced on Tuesday a $170 million strategic investment to expand and strengthen its US infant formula manufacturing, which is expected to bolster industry capacity, enhance consumer choice and increase access to safe, affordable infant formula for parents and caregivers. As part of this strategic investment, Perrigo has purchased Nestlé's Gateway infant formula plant in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, along with the US and Canadian rights to the Good Start infant formula brand. Also included in the $170 million, Perrigo will immediately invest $60 million to expand Gateway's 29 million pound per year production capacity by 7 million pounds, or more than 100 million more 8-ounce bottle equivalents per year, within 18 months, adding a total of 36 million pounds of capacity to Perrigo.

Vermont Business Magazine Average gasoline prices in Vermont rose 9 cents since last week to $3.90 per gallon. They're up 27 cents from last month and up 50 cents from this time last year. The lowest price in Vermont was $3.35/g in Brattleboro and the highest price was $4.19 in West Burke. Vermont gas prices had been tracking below the national average in October but have surged higher in the last week.

Vermont Business Magazine Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) has announced the Partnership Grant projects recommended for funding for 2022. Twenty-four projects were recommended for funding, for a total of $652,414. Vermont received the most grants (tied with New York) for a total of $171,889.

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Outdoor Business Alliance's (VOBA) 2nd Annual Trailblazer Legacy Award will be presented to Marc Sherman and Mike Donohue, co-founders of the Outdoor Gear Exchange (OGE) in Burlington, by U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy. Senator Leahy was the inaugural Trailblazer Award recipient in 2021 for his lifetime of work preserving and protecting Vermont’s remarkable outdoor places, foundational to the successes of outdoor businesses like OGE. The 2022 Trailblazer Legacy Award ceremony will take place as part of VOBA's Fourth Annual Meeting and Outdoor Economy Sessions at HULA in Burlington on November 10.

Vermont Business Magazine The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) and partner organization, the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), have announced a sign-up for Land Management and Land Rental activities funded through the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). While applications are accepted year-round, the application date for Fiscal Year 2023 is January 13, 2023. Through this RCPP project, Vermont DEC has secured over $3.75 million toward Land Management and Rental activities in cooperation with NRCS.

by Sarah Reeves, Executive Director of the Chittenden Solid Waste District It’s easy to drop a piece of cardboard into a blue recycling bin and think nothing more of it, other than remembering to set your bin on the curb for pickup or bringing it to a drop off center. The good news is that recycling is second nature to many Vermonters. The bad news is, if you were to pull the curtain back and observe the next steps in that cardboard’s journey, you’d likely be surprised by how old and inefficient the facility is that sorts these materials into streams that can be made into new products. As a result, CSWD’s Board has determined that a new and improved facility is in the public’s interest. To meet this demand, in June the Board authorized placing a question on the November ballot, asking Chittenden County voters to approve authorization for the District to issue general obligation bonds ($22 million) to fund the construction of, and equipment, for a new Materials Recovery Facility (MRF).

Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Department of Health has launched a first-of-a-kind program to support healthcare professionals with timely information on disease diagnosis, testing, treatment and patient education resources — improving public health response statewide. The Clinician Support Initiative provides access to a vast collection of images and clinical information about public health threats, including hMPXV (human monkeypox virus), COVID-19 and Lyme disease. Available on the web or through an app, these tools help improve the speed and accuracy of diagnosis and facilitate the timely reporting to public health for diseases of public health significance. These resources are being made available to Vermont healthcare professionals in partnership with VisualDx, a healthcare informatics company based in Rochester, NY. A phased rollout is currently underway, and all Vermont medical professionals can expect access by the end of the year.

Vermont Business Magazine Dynapower, a global leader in power conversion and energy storage solutions, has partnered with Alphastruxure and Montgomery County, Maryland to provide energy storage that will help provide uninterrupted power to the county's fleet of electric buses using on-site generation including renewable resources. The Brookville Smart Energy Bus Depot uses an integrated system of solar, microgrid energy storage, and electric charging stations which will eventually power 70 electric buses (50% of the Brookville bus fleet) with 4.14 megawatts of charging capacity. Transitioning these 70 buses at the depot from diesel to electric, powered by the on-site clean energy microgrid, will reduce lifetime emissions by 62 percent

Vermont Business Magazine The Local, a wine and beer shop located in Middlesex, announces its opening day this Thursday, November 3. The Local is based in Middlesex’s Camp Meade complex, which also houses Red Hen Baking Co. and features an outdoor summer music series. The Local offers a world-class selection of carefully chosen wines. Designed to be approachable, accessible, and demystify the wine shopping experience, The Local offers quality wines at all price points from vineyards and bottlers that prioritize sustainability.

Vermont Business Magazine Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), and US Representative Peter Welch (D-Vermont) Wednesday announced that Vermont will be receiving $25.4 million in funding for the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). This includes: $19,146,884 from the traditional LIHEAP block grant funding; $5,716,220 in new supplemental funding from the Continuing Appropriations Act; and $571,341 in funding appropriated for Fiscal Year 2023 from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Vermont Business Magazine The Burlington Electric Department (BED) today, joined by Mayor Miro Weinberger, ARC Industries Founder and CEO Robert Monteith, and leaders from Burlington International Airport (BTV) and the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund, announced a partnership with ARC Industries to pioneer ARC’s new, leading-edge wind turbine – The Orb – at BTV in pursuit of Burlington’s goal of becoming a Net Zero Energy City by 2030. The Orb will be ARC’s first-ever deployment of its new energy technology and will provide BED with the opportunity to pilot a potential means of further diversifying its renewable energy offerings in Burlington’s urban environment. The Orb is a low-profile, rooftop wind turbine that will produce enough electricity for about 1.5 homes. The $20,000 cost of The Orb is being shouldered by Massachusetts-based ARC, with BED taking care of the installation. At the end of the one-year pilot program BED would have the option of buying the unit.

Vermont Business Magazine US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced that the Biden-Harris Administration is investing $1,096,655 in Vermont Livestock Slaughter & Processing through the first round of the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP). This is part of $223 million in meat and processing programs nationwide. Vermont Livestock Slaughter & Processing connects hundreds of farmers in Vermont and the Northeast with the customers they supply. Meat processing is currently a bottleneck in the region with many producers having to wait significant periods for the service. With their MPPEP investment, they will maximize their capacity and position the company for succession planning to an employee-owned model.