Rural Vermont

Strengthening social, ecological and economic health of the agrarian communities that connect us all.

06/01/2026

Spots Available! Rural Vermont and Vermont Growers Association are excited to announce a partnership with Ben Grunrow and Stephen Davidson of Treetop Alliance, a beautiful Tier 2 outdoor cannabis operation in Elmore. We hope you will join us for the first of our 2026 cannabis workshop series: A Vegetative Mid-Season Maintenance & Flower Preparation Workshop.

This workshop will be held on Saturday, June 13th, from 10am - 1pm, at Treetop Alliance for a hands-on, peer-to-peer learning experience. Ben and Stephen will lead us through spring soil techniques, then delve into essential mid-season fertigation strategies, and conclude with practical approaches to pathogen prevention and pest management. Whether you are a new or seasoned grower, this workshop will offer valuable insights and networking opportunities with fellow cultivators.

This 3-hour workshop will cover:
*Soil Health and Fertility: Farm available Holistic Fertigation Practices
*Flowers and Biological Influence: Predatory Insects (Syrphid, Braconid, etc), their Lifecycles, and how to influence their inhabitants on your farm.
*Pathogen prevention and Practices: When, How, and Why

For more information and to register to attend, please visit this link: https://www.ruralvermont.org/merch/cannabis-processing-workshop-2026

Rural Vermont and VGA will provide key legislative and policy updates and be available to answer questions throughout the workshop. We hope to see you there!

Growers Association

05/31/2026

Signed into law earlier this month, NH House Bill 1205 prohibits state and county-owned lands from participating in carbon sequestration projects! Vermont is not regulating carbon markets and has no regulatory protections preventing NGOs like the Nature Conservancy from enriching themselves through Vermont-based carbon programs that generate biodiversity credits from computer models to greenwash (out-of-state) industrial pollution. Learn more about the bill and VT-based carbon projects on our homepage: www.ruralvermont.org

05/30/2026

Following advocacy led by a coalition that Rural Vermont was part of (resulting in Act 170 of 2022), the Agency of Natural Resources proposed solid waste rule revisions that will prohibit facilities from combining source-separated food residuals with packaged food residuals and from processing source-separated scraps with de-packaging machines. This change in rule is necessary to support the management of organics by community and on-farm composters that otherwise lack market shares in the consolidated waste stream. Read more and provide public comment here:
https://vtdigger.org/listings/legalnotices/proposed-solid-waste-rule-changes/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Digger%2005%2F27%2F26&utm_source=dc3c5486db&utm_source=VTDigger+Subscribers+and+Donors&utm_campaign=561e1a8ae2-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2026_05_26_10_47&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-561e1a8ae2-405972481

05/28/2026

Join us Sunday, June 14, from 9:30 am - 3 pm* at Shepherd Moon Farm in Corinth for a spring work brigade! We will be clearing the fence line to support pasture management at a new, pasture-based sheep dairy and creamery.
Work brigades are a popular educational tool used around the world to strengthen communities and build trust and solidarity through collective labor, connection, mutual aid, and knowledge sharing. Lunch, refreshments, education, and tools provided.
Vermont’s ability to feed itself relies on thriving community-scale farms working together towards food sovereignty and community resilience. We hope you can join us! RSVP required for planning purposes: https://www.ruralvermont.org/events/2026/6/14/614-work-brigade-at-shepherd-moon-farm

This brigade is hosted by the Vermont Agroecology School Collective, a project of Rural Vermont.

*We may finish before 3 pm, depending on numbers. It’s okay if you can’t stay for the whole time, but we encourage you to come at the beginning if you can!

05/27/2026

With UVM Extension 4-H, the Vermont Woodlands Association, Rural Vermont & the People's Agroecology School are excited to present hands-on tractor safety day! Participants are eligible to earn their certification under the National Safe Tractor and Machinery Operation Program (caregivers will need to sign a waiver for their participation). An inclusive space, but designed for women and youth.

The day will include small group, hands-on instruction on tractor safety including: backing up, understanding the clutch, PTO safety, center of gravity considerations and more. Lunch included. Link to registration: https://vermontwoodlands.org/women-and-youth-tractor-safety-day

05/26/2026

On Friday, May 22, VTDigger published an op-ed by our Legislative Director, Caroline Sherman-Gordon: “Vermont’s new farming legislation leaves small livestock operations vulnerable.” In her commentary, Caroline explains the context behind H.941 and highlights our concerns about rolling back protections for small homesteaders. She also raises important questions about how these changes could weaken food security and local self-reliance, especially as Vermont pursues aggressive conservation goals and new food security mandates.

https://vtdigger.org/2026/05/22/opinion-vermonts-new-farming-legislation-leaves-small-livestock-operations-vulnerable/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Digger%2005%2F23%2F26&utm_source=dc3c5486db&utm_source=VTDigger+Subscribers+and+Donors&utm_campaign=fe67e96b5c-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2026_05_22_09_25&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-fe67e96b5c-405972481

05/24/2026

Bridges to Health needs our support! Across Vermont, thousands of immigrant workers quietly sustain daily life—milking cows, harvesting food, building homes, and keeping local businesses running. When they or their children get sick, injured, or need care, the system is often confusing, inaccessible, or out of reach. That’s where Bridges to Health steps in. For over a decade, Bridges to Health has connected immigrant workers and their families to the care they need to stay healthy, safe, and supported.

*Now, this work is at risk, because as of July 1, 2026, Bridges to Health must transition out of University of Vermont Extension and operate independently under a new fiscal sponsor.*

They must raise the upfront capital to continue operating—including retaining the trusted team that makes this work possible. Learn more and support if you can:
https://givebutter.com/BridgestoHealthVT

05/23/2026

Check out this recent National Family Farm Coalition blog post about transformative, land-based solidarity by Azhar Khanmohamed, a California-based farmer, educator, and organizer, as they reflect about their experience in Rural Vermont’s 2025 Short Course in People’s Agroecology.

“The People’s Short Course was my first time feeling deeply connected to agroecology as a broader movement, and as an embodied form of knowledge rooted in the solidarities of those who practice it. While I didn’t know it at the time, the short course sowed the seeds of a much deeper understanding of agroecology within me. 7 months later, I can feel those seeds, and the potent medicines they have grown into: a sharper politic, deeper alignment in my relationships, and more clarity in my role in the movement for agroecology here in the Bay Area. I am incredibly grateful and humbled to have had the opportunity to participate.”

Read their full blog post here:
https://nffc.net/azhar-agroecology-vermont-2026/

05/22/2026

Rural Vermont is so lucky to have a Board full of dynamic, smart, thoughtful, and all around rockstar farmers, farmworkers, and advocates! And we're always looking for more! If talking about ag policy gets you fired up and you share Rural Vermont's commitment to a food & farm system that cares for the land and the people who tend it - consider nominating yourself!

https://www.ruralvermont.org/join-our-board

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46 East State St
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http://ruralvermont.org/

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