Tebbetts: Celebrate Dairy Month! | Vermont Business Magazine

Submitted by tim on Mon, 06/05/2023 - 03:36

by Vermont Agriculture Secretary, Anson Tebbetts

Dairy contributes to our diet every day, and in June, we celebrate our delicious local dairy options. We fuel up at breakfast with fresh Vermont yogurt, at lunch with grilled cheese. For dinner, it's something from the grill—perhaps a juicy burger with Vermont cheese. Time for dessert? Don't forget the treats: cheesecake with Vermont cream cheese, cakes with fresh butter, and pudding with Vermont cream. Maybe it's visiting your favorite ice cream or creemee stand after a long day of work. It's the season to celebrate the farmers who make it possible.

Maybe you like your milk with maple. A cool maple milkshake serves up the best of both worlds. Several of our dairy farmers are also maple producers. Maple is a spring tradition rooted in Vermont's working lands. From the spring sugaring season to colorful fall foliage, we think of our farmers and the work they do so that local food, recreation, and tourism can thrive in our Green Mountains.

Like craft beer, wine, and spirits, dairy is another quality Vermont product produced on the farm. And like our winning beverage industry, we take our world-class cheese seriously: Vermont has the most artisan cheesemakers per capita in the United States.

For decades, Vermont's dairy farms have shaped our land and our way of life. Each great-tasting and nutritious glass of milk also continues to drive economic growth—providing thousands of jobs and supporting many other businesses. Dairy farmers care for the land, the animals, and the people who depend on them. They invest in conservation practices that benefit water quality and soil health.

From farm to table, from Vermont's green fields to coffee and cone—dairy products are everywhere, thanks to farmers who work tirelessly to produce high-quality dairy products.

June will fly by, but let's pause and thank our dairy farmers who make it all possible. It's time to celebrate the cows, the goats, the sheep, the land, and our hard-working farm families.

Now, back to that creemee.

Learn More About Vermont Dairy

USDA Homeownership Support for Rural Americans

USDA Rural Development is celebrating Homeownership Month by highlighting programs that help rural American families.

Rural Development has put together a list programs that help people in rural and Tribal areas buy, build, and repair affordable homes and pay their rent in America's smallest towns and communities.

You can access all the programs Rural Dev has to offer on their website.

Visit the VT Rural Development Page

$130 Million for
Farmers Facing Financial Risk

The USDA has announced nearly $130 million in additional, automatic financial assistance for borrowers facing financial risk.

The Farm Service Agency is accepting and reviewing individual distressed borrower assistance requests from direct loan borrowers.

Borrowers should have received a letter detailing the process for seeking assistance. Please contact your local FSA Office with additional questions.

Find your local FSA Service Center

WLEI Grantee Highlight: Vermont Livestock Slaughter & Processing

Vermont Livestock Slaughter & Processing in Ferrisburgh received a $100,000 grant in 2022 from the Working Lands Enterpise Initiative.

“The grant is directly supporting our business by helping us upgrade our facility to have more efficient, sustainable, and reliable equipment,” says Carl Cushing.

“This equipment will help us provide the local school district with more locally grown, humanely raised, and antibiotic free ground beef patties for students’ lunches. We will be able to produce value-added products more efficiently like sausages and smoked meats, as well as neatly packaged and labeled products ready for grocery stores and markets.”

Read the full story

Two-Part Poultry Processing Workshop

Join Rural Vermont on June 14th for an inaugural two-part educational workshop on the raising, slaughtering, and processing of meat chickens.

Part one takes place at Luna Bleu Farm in South Royalton where Suzanne Long and Tim Sanford will guide participants through slaughter, de-feathering, evisceration, and cleaning.

Part two is at Roma Butchery in South Royalton. Participants will learn to cut a whole bird, practice cutting techniques, and demystify the cutting of a whole carcass.

The price is $125 which includes two certified organic chickens to take home.

Register for the Workshop

View the VAAFM Grants Calendar