Current News

Vermont Business Magazine Vail Resorts is extending its reach into Vermont. In March it announced it was buying the ski operationis at Stowe Mountain Resort for $50 million and Wednesday said it has named Inntopia, the hospitality resevation service based in Stowe, as a key partner to offer guests more real-time booking, lodging options and dynamic pricing across Vail’s brand websites. Inntopia offers the most flexible and robust advanced reservation system in existence. Vail Resorts, said, it will launch the use of Inntopia’s inventory distribution network this summer.

“We are very excited to be working with Vail Resorts, the leading global mountain resort operator,” said Trevor Crist, founder and chief executive officer of Inntopia. “The partnership will help Vail Resorts to continue to deliver exceptional service throughout the vacation booking journey and the complete vacation experience.”

Vermont Business MagazineThroughout February and March, the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food, and Markets held aListening Tourto gather feedback and ideas about farming in our state. Over the course of six weeks, the Agency hosted meetings in Lyndonville, Brattleboro, Middlebury, StAlbans, and Montpelier. More than 300 farmers and community members attended. Today, the Agency is announcing a plan to address the Listening Tour feedback.

“The suggestions and ideas shared by participants were insightful, and covered a wide range of topics,” said Ag Secretary, Anson Tebbetts. “The feedback was diverse, but four main themes emerged.”

On the whole, here’s what was shared, and how the Agency of Agriculture plans to address it:

The Next Generation

Vermont Business MagazineComposting sometimes gets a bad rap. Some fear that it's smelly. And many composters are, shall we say, less than easy on the eye. But one, groovy-lookingWorm Farm Compostersold in the USby Gardener's Supply Company, is being recognized with an international design award. Thousands of products were vying for the "Red Dot Award," and the Worm Farm Composter has achieved this coveted design recognition.

Vermont Business Magazine Green Mountain Antibodies has signed an agreement with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) of Nairobi, Kenya to produce and distribute monoclonal antibodies that detect infectious disease markers in cattle. This agreement is a result of a collaboration between Green Mountain Antibodies, ILRI, Dr John Barlow of the University of Vermont, and Dr Bill Golde, currently of the Moredun Research Institute, Edinburgh, Scotland. This agreement allows Green Mountain Antibodies access to existing antibodies and will lead to greater world-wide availability of high-quality, validated antibodies for animal health diagnostics.

Vermont Business Magazine University of Vermont Professor Jon Erickson has never been a fan of the status quo. As an ecological economist, his national and international scholarship has challenged the core assumptions of mainstream economics. As a social entrepreneur, he has helped build interdisciplinary research-to-action collaborations between reluctant academic, government and civil society partners. Now as an up-and-coming independent filmmaker, he’s gauging the strength of a new era of progressive politics in America he thinks may be waking at just the right moment to seed the social movement of a generation.

Vermont Business MagazineFoodScience Corporation has moved into a new headquarters located at 929 Harvest Lane, in Williston, Vermont. The move marks the start of a new chapter for the company, which had been located in Essex Junction for over 30 years.The new facility continues the company’s focus on quality, being an FDA registered facility that is cGMP certified by the Natural Products association, UL inspected and SQF (Safe Quality Foods) Level 1 certified. The new FoodScience Corporation headquarters is also a USDA Aphis and EU approved manufacturing facility, which allows for global shipping of its products. In addition to its new headquarters in Williston, they also operate a liquid manufacturing facility in Colchester, Vermont.

Vermont Business Magazine From January 14-April 22, 2017, Walk the Long Trail at Berlin Mall taps into Vermonters’ love for the outdoors, and offers a fun, healthy, and educational experience. By walking 544 laps in the mall’s heated, enclosed common area, participants can walk the equivalent of the Long Trail’s 272 miles. Photos, graphics, and other media provide the sense of being immersed in the Trail and its surroundings. Participants’ walking distances are recorded as they achieve milestones along the way, and the mall owner (Heidenberg Properties Group) is donating funds to presenting partner, the Green Mountain Club, based on the number of miles people walk. As of April 15, 595 registered mall walkers have raised $4,332 for the Green Mountain Club, official stewards of The Long Trail.

Vermont Business Magazine Union Bankshares, Inc(NASDAQ:UNB), the parent company of Union Bank based in Morrisville, today announced results for the three months ended March 31, 2017. Consolidated net income for the first quarter of 2017 was $1.9 million, or $0.43 per share, compared to $1.8 million, or $0.39 per share, for the same period in 2016. Net interest income was $6.3 million for the quarter ended March31, 2017, compared to $5.9 million for the same period in 2016, an increase of $367 thousand, or 6.2%.A regular quarterly cash dividend $0.29 per share was also declared.

Vermont Business Magazine Fiddlehead Brewing Company of Shelburne, VT recently donated $119,406 to The University of Vermont Children’s Hospital to improve spaces in which teens and younger children can relax and play while they are inpatients. The money was raised through sales of Fiddlehead Brewing’s Mastermind beer. Proceeds were donated to a Vermont team that participated in a 24-hour video gaming marathon called “Extra Life” which benefits hospitals in the Children’s Miracle Network. Noah Cohen, son of Fiddlehead owners Matt and Amy Cohen, organized “Team Mastermind” which participated with teams from throughout the United States and Canada in the fundraising effort.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont is among the least air polluted places in the nation and Burlington is one of the cleanest cities, ranking 17th overall. The American Lung Association’s 2017 “State of the Air” report released Wednesday found that all reporting counties in Vermont sustained average to above average grades for both ozone and particle pollution, two of the most common forms of hazardous air pollution.The data for the 2017 ‘State of the Air’ Report shows that Vermont counties continued to decrease already low ozone days, while Rutland county did see its high particle pollution days increase from 3 to 6.While not enough to change its passing grade for particle pollution, the Lung Association warns that the increase is not insignificant.

Vermont Business Magazine In a statement issued Tuesday afternoon and entitled "Clarification re: CVMC," Green Mountain Care Board memberCornelius Hogan said "he got ahead of himself" in remarks he made during a board meeting last week to Central Vermont Medical Center officials regarding possible sanctions by the board regarding the Berlin hospital's spending. A VTDigger storyMonday covering the meeting then generated a response from GMCB's own general counsel that contradicted Hogan's statement, which then was followed by Hogan's own retraction Tuesday.

Vermont Business Magazine Vermont and six other states filed a motion Monday to intervene in a lawsuit to defend federal efficiency standards for light bulbs. In March, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) filed a lawsuit against the USDepartment of Energy (DOE), challenging the DOE’s new energy efficiency regulations for light bulbs.

“Energy efficiency makes sense. Not only for our environment but for Vermonters' bottom line,” said Vermont Attorney General TJDonovan.