Champlain Valley Farmer Coalition

Note: Registration required by July 16. The 76th Soil and Water Conservation Society (SWCS) International Annual Conference, taking place virtually, July 26-28, 2021, will provide the opportunity for attendees around the world to share their conservation stories and bring natural resource management solutions from far and wide into their homes and offices. The virtual event format allows access and inclusivity on a broad scale, and our interactive conference platform provides a robust conference experience with live sessions, Q&A, networking, a virtual exhibit hall, and many other ways to learn, connect, and engage. This year’s conference theme, “One World, Connected through Conservation,”...

The FAP Program utilizes state funding to help Vermont farms implement soil-based agronomic practices that improve soil quality, increase crop production, and reduce erosion and agricultural waste discharges. The FAP program also provides education and instructional activity grants to support outreach regarding the impacts of agricultural practices on water quality and current state agricultural water quality regulations. Eligible practices include: cover cropping, conservation crop rotation, conservation crop rotation with nurse crop; conservation tillage, no till pasture and hayland renovation; rotational grazing; manure injection; and educational or instructional activities. Rotational grazing applications are due June 15; cover crop applications are due...

Join UVM pathologist Ann Hazelrigg, and entomologists Vic Izzo and Scott Lewins, for a field walk to learn about, identify and discuss solutions for this year’s pests and diseases, including integrated pest management (IPM) techniques. This workshop will be hosted at the certified organic mixed vegetable farm Bear Roots Farm in Williamstown and is geared toward commercial organic vegetable growers. This workshop is free to attend for commercial growers. Pre-registration required. Hosts: Karin Bellemare and Jon Wagner own and operate Bear Roots Farm, an organic mixed vegetable farm in Williamstown, VT. They also own and operate The Roots Farm Market, one of the...

August is a BIG month for the agricultural community–see Addison County Fair & Field Days and Open Farm Week–so we’re pushing our Board of Directors meeting to a later date. They will meet on Wednesday, August 18 at 9:30 a.m. at the UVM Extension office located at 23 Pond Lane in Middlebury. All CVFC members are invited; members of the public may join at 10:00. If you would like to attend, kindly RSVP to Kirsten Workman, Board Secretary, at Kirsten.Workman@uvm.edu.

Interest is growing in using grazing management to rebuild the health of degraded soils. The National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT) will host a two-part workshop in August for ag professionals, educators, and mentor farmers to provide information and hands-on training on regenerative grazing, soil health, and monitoring. NCAT soil and livestock specialists will be joined by Dr. Allen Williams of Understanding Ag, LLC to lead these workshops. Learn more at: https://bit.ly/3fOeh0C

The CVFC Board of Directors meets on the first Wednesday of each month. This month's meeting will be held at a location TBD. Members of the coalition are welcome to arrive at 10:30 a.m., and the general public is welcome to arrive at 11:00 a.m. For full details or to RSVP, contact Kirsten Workman at Kirsten.Workman@uvm.edu.

Bourdeau Brothers of Middlebury and Feed Commodities International, Inc. of Middlebury present the 12th Annual Addison County Ag Showcase. Watch crop demos, learn more about suppliers, products, and services, win door prizes, enjoy Skip's famous Barbecue Chicken for lunch, and connect with the ag community!

Protein is a critically important part of a basic diet but how can the global animal protein sector continue to sustainably feed a growing and increasingly hungry world? That question is at the core of the Sustainable Solutions for Zero Hunger by 2030: A Vision for Animal Agriculture, scheduled virtually for 12-5 p.m. ET on September 14, 2021. Presented in partnership with Elanco and Agri-Pulse the event will bring together key leaders across the animal protein food chain from around the world to discuss the next steps of food production’s sustainable transformation, its ability to fight hunger and its durability against shocks.

This virtual workshop, led by Didi Pershouse, will deepen each participant’s understanding of whole-systems landscape function and effective land management, with a focus on water and the soil sponge. Biology creates a natural sponge in healthy soils and grasslands that slows and sinks water on a total landscape scale–providing resilience in times of flooding and drought. Many of our current economic, social, and climate concerns are due to a degradation of our country’s soils, in particular it’s sponge-like structure or “tilth.” In this introductory class we will consider these questions: What is the soil sponge, and how is it different from...