Current News

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.

Vermont Business Magazine The University of Vermont has achieved the Real Food Campus Commitment, a university pledge signed in 2012 to track and increase responsible food sourcing on campus, three years ahead of schedule. The university had originally set out to meet the 20 percent Real Food milestone by 2020. To build on this momentum, UVM has renewed its commitment with a new goal of 25 percent by 2020.

The Real Food Challenge is a nationwide student-led campaign to shift institutional purchasing to more sustainable and community-based food production. The national organization offers tools to audit university dining systems and support the procurement of qualifying products.

Vermont Business MagazineMembers of the University of Vermont’s Wellness Environment (WE) have a different idea about how to celebrate 4-20, a day (April 20) many college students use to flaunt marijuana laws: They’re using the occasion to promote healthy choices by staging a 5K run. More than 700 students, faculty and staff have already registered for the race. Organizers expect 1,000 to participate.

WE 5K run: On April 20 at 4:20 p.m. UVM's Wellness Environment will host its second 5K run to promote health and wellness. UVM photo.

Community members are also invited join the run. All participants will receive a WE t-shirt.

Vermont Business Magazine Two historic agreements will allow the protection of valuable farmland and the scenic gateway to Randolph. The Vermont Natural Resources Council announced today that Jesse “Sam” Sammis and his wife Jean “Jinny” Sammis have agreed to sell 149 acres of land off Exit 4 in Randolph to the Castanea Foundation for $1.2 million for conservation purposes. The Montpelier-based foundation is acting as an intermediary to hold the land to allow time for the sale of a conservation easement with public funding, private fundraising, and the eventual sale of the conserved land to Ayers Brook Goat Dairy for agricultural purposes.