Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Housing & Conservation Board, Vermont Land Trust and theIntervale Center received a three-year, $546,000 grant from the USDA’sBeginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program to help Vermont’s nextgeneration of agricultural entrepreneurs access land and grow viablebusinesses.VHCB’s Viability Program is a nationally-recognized provider ofcomprehensive, one-on-one business and transfer planning services forestablished farm, food and forestry sector businesses. The Vermont LandTrust’s Farmland Access Program connects farmers with affordable farmland,helping 62 new and beginning farmers make the transition to farm ownershipsince 2009.The Intervale Center provides one-on-one business planning andtechnical assistance to about 80 farms throughout Vermont each year as wellas specialized assistance in the areas of land access.
These three organizations have been working together for over a decade on issues related to beginning farmers and land access and are excited toincrease their impact together with these funds. Over the next three years,VHCB, VLT and the Intervale Center will provide business planning to 150 newand beginning farmers, help 70 farmers find affordable land that is suitablefor their business model, and work with 70 retiring farmers to acquire thetools and assistance they need to transition their farmland to farmers,rather than non-farmers.
Ela Chapin of VHCB explained, “We believe in the power of direct service asthe most effective approach for improving farm viability. Farming is acomplicated business that requires operators develop diverse skillsets. Withone-on-one technical assistance, we are able to meet farmers where they areand leverage the specific resources they need.”
The average age of a farmer in Vermont is 57 years old, which means that asignificant amount of the state’s farmland will transfer hands in the nextten years. This grant will help transfer that land to new and beginningfarmers who are the future of Vermont’s agricultural economy.
For more information about the services provided by the Viability Program, Farmland Access Program and the Intervale Center, visithttp://www.vhcb.org/Farm-Forest-Viability/.
Source:Intervale Center, intervale.org12.20.2017