The Center for an Agricultural Economy

08/31/2026

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This is social and environmental justice in action!

This Vermont-produced Farmer Cheese is the first organic cheese in the United States to carry the “Milk with Dignity” certification. Milk with Dignity is a worker-driven program created by Migrant Justice and dairy workers to establish and enforce standards for fair wages, safe working conditions, dignified housing, and workers’ rights.

Vermont Way Foods (founded by the Intervale Center, the Center for Agricultural Economy, Green Mountain Farm-to-School, and Food Connects) partnered with NOFA-VT and Migrant Justice to bring this product to life and support Vermont dairy farmers and farmworkers.

Find the cheese at City Market Co-op (Burlington, VT), Brattleboro Food Co-op (Brattleboro, VT), Pete’s Stand (Walpole, NH), Sweetland Farm (Norwich, VT), Milkweed Farm (Westminster, VT), The Maple Station Market (Temple, NH), Vermont Country Deli (Brattleboro, VT), The Genny (Craftsbury, VT), Rail City Market (St. Albans, VT), Plainfield Co-op (Plainfield, VT), Morrisville Co-op (Morrisville, VT), Stowe Village Market (Stowe, VT), Commodities Natural Market (Stowe, VT), and Common Roots (South Burlington, VT).

08/27/2026

🥕 Now Hiring: Just Cut Production Staff! 🥔
Temporary Position: September to December 2026
Do you like chopping veggies and working in the kitchen with a team? The Just Cut kitchen at the Vermont Food Venture Center is the heart of veggie production, where the team processes over 185,000 pounds of veggies each year.

Temporary Part-Time Position
16 hrs/wk. or 2 days a week
Hardwick, VT
$20.00/hr.
VT Sick Leave and phone stipend

Learn more and apply at caevt.org/jobs

08/25/2026

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08/24/2026

🌳 Black Ash Splint Pounding Workshop at Atkins Field 🧺

Learn about black ash trees and their unique role in local ecology and culture in this hands-on workshop with Abenaki educators and basket makers Kerry Wood and Aaron Wood. Together, we'll pound locally-harvested black ash trees to create splints for future generations of basket makers and learn more about the introduced insect emerald ash borer. Attend for any part or all of the day; bring work gloves and lunch.

Atkins Field: 140 Granite St, Hardwick, VT 05843
Friday, September 25
10am - 4pm
Opening circle and presentation at 10am, recap of presentations at 1pm. Free and open to all.

Registration is appreciated but not required. Register here: https://loom.ly/m1eTXCs

Vermont Forests, Parks & Recreation partners with educators and basket makers Kerry Wood and Aaron Wood to present a black ash outreach event focused on splint pounding. Black ash trees (and all native ash trees) are threatened by emerald ash borer, an introduced insect that infests and kills almost all ash trees. Black ash are particularly susceptible to emerald ash borer infestation, and losing these trees creates both an ecological and cultural gap for forests and people.

Pounding black ash logs into splints is a lot of work, but together, we can preserve black ash as splints for generations to come. Learn about the growth patterns of black ash, the skills needed to pound logs, and the baskets that come from them. Black ash logs will be harvested ahead of the workshop from Hardwick properties, likely at least one tree from the black ash stand behind Atkins Field and on CAE property. Emerald ash borer was confirmed in Hardwick in 2026.

Photos: Volunteers participate in black ash splint pounding in Tinmouth, Vermont. Photos by Joanne Garton and Cathy Reynolds

08/19/2026

CAE's Food Hub Account Manager, Lotty Roozekrans, attended the 2026 SNA-VT/FDA Vermont School Food and Vendor Show earlier this week. She showcased and sampled Just Cut pre-cut produce and hummus to school nutrition staff. Lotty says "it was lovely to meet so many of the school nutrition staff who feed our students day in and day out - we appreciate all that you do and we're excited to get more local Vermont produce into schools this year!"

Thanks to table neighbors, Vermont Bean Crafters, Food Connects and Salvation Farms, for representing the Vermont/food hub section of the show - keep up the good work!

School Nutrition Association of Vermont
Vermont FEED (Food Education Every Day)
Food Connects
Salvation Farms
Vermont Bean Crafters

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Just Cut purchases locally grown vegetables and prepares a line of ready-to-use products for K-12 schools, hospitals, colleges, and commercial kitchens throughout Vermont and just over the border in New Hampshire.
Local produce. Prepared.



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Photo 1:
Lotty showcasing Just Cut | Provided , Lotty Roozekrans
Photo 2:
Patrick Ackerman-Hovis and Lotty representing the local section of the food show | Tony Risitano

08/14/2026

🌟Partner Event Alert! 🌟
Our friends at the Orleans County Conservation District Vermont are putting on an exciting event, see details below!

Making Hayfields Work Again: Allstad Farm Field Day
📅 Thursday, August 27
🕥 10:30 AM–2:00 PM
📍 Allstad Farm, 2348 Center Road, Hardwick
🥪 Light lunch& Kingdom Creamery ice cream provided

The event is designed to provide practical, Vermont-specific information and plenty of opportunity for questions and conversation. It's a great opportunity for producers and landowners to hear directly from a farmer, researcher, drainage professional, and NRCS specialist and explore how water management can support productive working lands while protecting natural resources.

Online event information: https://www.orleanscountynrcd.org/2026-08-27-making-hayfields-work-again

What happens when heavier rains meet Vermont's hayfields?

That's exactly the question Dr. Joshua Faulkner has spent years researching.

As a Research Associate Professor with UVM Extension, Josh studies how water moves through agricultural landscapes and what that means for crop productivity, nutrient management, and water quality.

At the Allstad Farm Field Day, he'll share what Vermont research is telling us about:
💧 When tile drainage can improve field conditions
💧 How nutrients move through tile-drained soils
💧 How increasingly intense rainfall changes the way our fields function
💧 Best Management Practices that help protect both yields and water quality

Rather than asking farmers to choose between productive fields and healthy waterways, Josh's work explores how thoughtful water management can support both. Through practical research and real-world examples, he'll show how BMP's, innovative technologies, and informed management decisions can help farms stay productive while protecting Vermont's natural resources.

If you're interested in the why behind the practices, and the science that's shaping the future of farming in Vermont, you won't want to miss Josh's presentation.

📅 Thursday, August 27
📍 Allstad Farm | Hardwick, VT
🕥 10:30 AM–1:30 PM
🥪 Light lunch provided & ice cream, compliments of Kingdom Creamery
👉 Hold your spot at the link in the comments

A collaborative workshop with Caledonia County Natural Resources Conservation District

08/13/2026

08/12/2026

Calling all friends in the Upper Valley! CAE will be at tomorrow's (Thursday, Aug. 13) Feast & Field in Barnard and would love to connect!
Live music, local food and a celebration of community - this event runs every Thursday May - Sept. Doors open at 5:30 pm with music beginning at 6 pm. We'll have a table, info, a photo booth, and swag to sell and hope to connect with as many of you as we can. Please swing by!

Feast and Field Market
Photo: Northwind Farm in Walden, Vermont. | Kelly Bogel Stokes

08/12/2026

🐛 There's still time to register for Saturday's Grow Your Own workshop!

GYO Workshop: Garden Pests with Vic Izzo
Saturday, August 15th
1:30 - 3:30pm at Atkins Field Pavilion

Join us on Saturday, August 15th for a practical, hands-on session to identify common garden pests, understand their life cycles, and learn effective, garden-friendly management strategies. Participants will also leave with up-to-date information about jumping worms. Bring your burning questions and curiosity!

👉 There’s still space available for folks wanting to attend, register and secure your spot here: https://loom.ly/WDr8qdw

Stay tuned for more workshops in Craftsbury and Hardwick this summer through November.

Grow Your Own is a project of the Hardwick Area Food Pantry and the Center for an Agricultural Economy. The mission of Grow Your Own is to increase community food independence and well-being through shared skills, knowledge, and experience.

Hardwick Area Food Pantry, Inc.