Vermont Agriculture Innovation Center releases $45,000 for professional development training

The Vermont Agriculture Innovation Center (AIC) was created in 2009 when Senator Patrick Leahy secured $469,000 in funding through the USDA’s Agriculture Innovation Demonstration Center program. The goals of the Innovation Center program are to fund state-based Agriculture Innovation programs that provide technical, marketing and organizational development services to value-added agricultural businesses. ‘Value-added’ businesses include farms that do some level of processing for raw products, alternative production (e.g. organic), diversified farming, or local foods marketing.
The Vermont Housing Conservation Board, South Hero Land Trust, and Vermont Agriculture and Culinary Tourism Council, were recently awarded funding to provide professional development training to enhance value added agriculture in the state of Vermont. Proposals were reviewed and selected by a review committee and put forward for approval by the Agriculture Innovation Center Board.
The Vermont Housing Conservation Board was awarded $35,000 for the Vermont Farm Viability Enhancement Program to provide training for Farm Viability and other agriculture related technical assistance providers on the range of capital available, planning for farm transitions between owners, establishing peer-to-peer learning opportunities for service providers, establishing new individuals to become providers within the Farm Viability service provider network, and identifying and presenting best practices in farmer assistance programs from regions beyond Vermont.
The South Hero Land Trust was awarded $5,000.00 to support the continued networking and professional development of the growers in the Champlain Islands, and to encourage producers to enhance business development in the agricultural sector. This county-wide group of farmers will meet on a bi-monthly basis to provide peer-to-peer learning opportunities as well as access to local and regional experts. The topics will include: agricultural business and financial planning, value added resources, diversification and organic transition information, accessing and benefiting from the demand for ‘buy local’, soils expertise, and more.
The Vermont Agriculture and Culinary Tourism Council (VtACT) was awarded $5,596.00 to send four of its members to the Culinary Tourism World Summit in Halifax, Nova Scotia in September, 2010. The information from the World Summit will be brought back to Vermont and disseminated to council member’s affiliated organizations, offering a peer-to-peer learning opportunity, and by sharing at agricultural meetings such as the Vermont Farms Association meeting. The information will be used in the design of the council’s criteria for establishments listed on the VtACT website and generate ‘best practice’ expectations for farmers and producers, working to comply with the criteria.
Senator Patrick Leahy has secured one million dollars for the Vermont Agriculture Innovation Center to continue its work and disburse funds for 2010. Request for proposals from the Agriculture Innovation Center will be out in mid August with funds expected to arrive in Vermont this fall. For more information please contact Colleen Leonard at the Vermont Agency of Agriculture at [email protected] or (802) 828-2790.