Sustainable Agriculture Technical Assistance for Hardwick area

The Vermont Small Business Development Center (VtSBDC) will provide a full time Project Manager in Hardwick whose responsibility will be to provide area agribusinesses with technical assistance, consultation, and training programs. The VtSBDC will also assist in both expanding new businesses and selecting and recruiting new ones. A technical assistance focus will be on the new Vermont Food Venture Center in Hardwick.
The Project Manager position was made possible through a USDA Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) and under contract to the Center for an Agricultural Economy (CAE) in Hardwick.
The CAE will measure its success by supporting existing agricultural businesses and by recruiting new ones in the area. With the Vermont Food Venture Center re-locating from Fairfax to the Hardwick Industrial Park in early 2011 (and with the likely development of the agribusiness incubator center on the Atkins Field property), the agricultural community will be offered a full continuum of agriculture-related opportunities in and around Hardwick. This technical assistance will allow for professional help to be available on a continuing and consistent basis to ensure that new and existing businesses, regardless of size, will have all the support possible to promote and sustain their success.
A wide range of support services will be offered to greater Hardwick area agribusinesses associated with the Rural Economic Area Partnership (REAP Zone). These services will include: business counseling; business plan development and financial forecasting; capital formation; workshops and on-line webinars; and long term client project assistance utilizing student cadres from Johnson State College, Lyndon State College, Sterling College as well as college faculty.
The Center for an Agricultural Economy operating in greater Hardwick is a Vermont regional food hub whose purpose is to ensure that consumers have access to healthy, secure, and affordable locally-grown food. It also ensures that farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs have reliable and efficient access to local and regional markets. The non-profit CAE works to fill gaps identified in the regional food system and makes community connections which enable individuals, food pantries, schools, restaurants, and social service agencies to count on a year-round supply of local food. The measurable outcomes of this food system include a stronger local economy, improved public health, retention of agricultural lands, opportunities for young people, and decreased fuel consumption.
Source: The Center for an Agricultural Economy 6.10.10