Vermont Business Magazine Vermont Smoke & Cure, founded in 1962, is stepping out of a crowded meat sticks landscape post-pandemic with renewed strategy and robust product innovation. The Vermont Smoke & Cure team makes delicious meat sticks at their smokehouse in Hinesburg, Vermont. Launched in eCommerce on August 24, 2021, the new Hickory Smoked Uncured Bacon Pork Mini Sticks taste like the protein you love, bacon, with a smoky flavor and a hint of maple syrup. 

Vermont Business Magazine Years in the making, Peaceful Harvest Mushrooms is excited to announce the launch of their latest product, Cordyceps Militaris, Dried, Whole, Fruiting Bodies. They’re one of only a handful of certified organic cultivators of the whole fruiting body, the mushroom itself, in the United States. Most US cultivators only grow the mycelium which is much faster and easier. The coveted fruiting body is more potent, providing all the potential benefits known, and yet to be discovered.

Public Assets Institute Vermont netted a loss of just 75 businesses between March 2020 and March 2021, according to new data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. That followed a net loss of 258 businesses during the previous 12 months, most of which occurred around the onset of the pandemic. Between March 2020 and March 2021, nearly 2,500 businesses shut their doors, but more than 2,400 opened or reopened, most likely thanks to massive federal spending to mitigate the economic effects of the pandemic.

Vermont Business Magazine United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Under Secretary for Rural Development Xochitl Torres Small today announced that USDA is investing $222 million to build and improve critical community facilities in 44 states, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico. This community infrastructure funding will benefit nearly 2.5 million people in rural communities. This includes the Sharon Academy’s new STEM & arts wing—courtesy of a $1.91 million USDA RD loan. It also includes $132 million to support health care, food security, and emergency response services for more than 850,000 rural residents in 37 states. 

Vermont Business Magazine The Department of Public Service today released its draft Comprehensive Energy Plan, which lays the ground work for the state's energy future. The greenhouse gas requirements include 26 percent reduction from 2005 levels by 2025, 40 percent reduction from 1990 levels by 2030, and 80 percent reduction from 1990 levels by 2050. For instance, for transportation, meet 10% of energy needs from renewable energy by 2025, and 45% by 2040. And for heating, meet 30% of energy needs from renewable energy by 2025, and 70% by 2042.