Vermont Business Magazine The Vermont Agricultural Hall of Fame has announced the 2025 Inductees. With over 20 years of history and over 100 inductees, the Ag Hall of Fame is a Vermont Agricultural honored tradition among Vermont farmers and growers, service providers, and dedicated employees. Over the last few years, the Hall of Fame categories have been expanded to include an Emerging Leader under the age of 40, an Ag Innovator and up to three inductees in the Lifetime Achievement category. The thoughtful reflection of each nomination makes for competitive judging each year. Thank you to those that submitted a nomination this year and the Ag Hall of Fame looks forward to more quality nominations in 2026. The 2025 inductees will be celebrated during the Champlain Valley Fair later this summer.
2025 Emerging Leader: Amy Maxham, Service provider and Farmer. Highgate, VT
2025 Ag Innovator: Andrea Asch, Industry Advocate. Richmond, VT
2025 Lifetime Achievement:
- Cecile Branon, Farmer and Maple Producer. Fairfield, VT
- Leon Berthiaume, Retired CEO St Albans Cooperative Creamery/Sr. Advisor Dairy Farmers of America. St Albans, VT
- Mark Curran, Distribution. Chester, VT
- UVM Extension's Across the Fence Program
2025 Emerging Leader: Amy Maxham Amy has a deep love and passion for Vermont’s dairy industry, which began on the family farm where she was raised. Early exposure to hard work and appreciation for the industry led her to pursue higher education in Animal Science through the VTC/UVM 2+2 program. This launched her professional journey as a lab technician at St. Albans Cooperative Creamery, eventually rising to Regional Field Representative Manager at Dairy Farmers of America. Amy is an active community volunteer, serving as Vice President of the Vermont Dairy Industry Association, on the Missisquoi Valley Union Ag Advisory Committee, the VTC/UVM 2+2 Advisory Committee, as a 4-H Leader, a tractor parade organizer, and Highgate PTKO member. She also continues farming, managing young stock alongside her fiancé Alian and their daughter Charlotte on Alian’s family farm. Amy’s roots in Vermont dairy continue to shape her dedication to the industry.
2025 Ag Innovator: Andrea Asch Andrea spent 27 years with Ben & Jerry’s as the Natural Resources Manager. After moving to Vermont for its beauty and quality of life, she applied her two environmental science degrees across initiatives such as packaging innovation, waste reduction in manufacturing, alternative refrigeration, GHG reduction, renewable energy, and environmental compliance. In 2000, recognizing the need for sustainable agriculture practices, she co-developed the Caring Dairy program with Gabe Clark of Cold Spring Ranch. The initiative supports Vermont dairies through holistic self-assessments tied to environmental stewardship, farmworker well-being, financial sustainability, and animal care. Farmers are incentivized to implement annual innovation plans based on these evaluations. Andrea describes the highlight of her career as “being welcomed by the many farmers that supplied Ben & Jerry’s their key ingredient.”
2025 Lifetime Achievement: Cecile Branon Raised on a dairy farm, Cecile learned the value of hard work early. With a degree in accounting and a background in banking, she married Tom—also a dairy farmer and maple producer—and together raised four children while building a life rooted in agriculture. Beyond farming, Cecile became a passionate advocate for Vermont’s maple industry. She promoted it across county fairs and through 16 years of leadership as co-chair of the Vermont Maple Festival. Under her guidance, the event has become one of the most significant promotional platforms for Vermont maple producers and the state’s agricultural identity.
2025 Lifetime Achievement: Leon Berthiaume Leon grew up on a farm and has devoted his career to strengthening Vermont’s dairy industry. After earning a Business Administration degree from UVM and becoming a CPA, he audited various organizations before joining St. Albans Cooperative Creamery in 1984 as Controller. He became CEO in 1991 and led until 2019, then served as Senior Advisor post-merger with Dairy Farmers of America until his retirement in 2025. Leon represented Vermont dairy interests at every level—local to national—and helped expand operations, services, and facilities during his tenure, leaving a lasting industry legacy.
2025 Lifetime Achievement: Mark Curran Mark was instrumental in Vermont’s local food revolution. In 1978, with business partner Steve Birge, he opened a farm store in Ludlow that evolved into Black River Produce. Focused on local sourcing, the company now partners with over 200 Vermont producers and is widely recognized as a leader in local food distribution. In 2015, they converted a former Ben & Jerry’s plant into a 50,000-square-foot meat processing facility, helping alleviate a critical bottleneck for regional farmers. Mark’s latest venture, Vermont Family Farms, continues this legacy by supporting working landscapes and agricultural livelihoods statewide.
2025 Lifetime Achievement: Across the Fence Marking 70 years, Across the Fence is one of Vermont’s longest-running and most beloved agriculture-focused television programs. Launched when Vermont received its first TV station in 1955, the show—produced by UVM Extension and aired on WCAX—quickly became a lunchtime tradition. Through storytelling, interviews, and educational content, it has kept Vermonters connected to the agricultural pulse of the state. Its enduring relevance and community-centered ethos have made it a cornerstone of Vermont’s media and agricultural history.
About the Champlain Valley Expo
The Champlain Valley Exposition is a 501(c)(3) not for profit organization with a mission of serving the people of Vermont and the region by promoting agriculture, education, arts and culture, commerce, and entertainment activities. Since 2003, the Expo has hosted the Vermont Ag Hall of Fame, which honors Vermonters who have made significant achievements to Vermont’s working landscape.
6.23.2025. Essex Junction, VT – For more information, visit https://www.vtaghalloffame.org
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