Addison County Farmer's Markets!
Outside shopping is coming up!
 Brandon
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RAFFL UVM Extension NOFA VT  | |
Spring Lettuce at Elmer Farm
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Greetings!
A highlight of this year's Stone Soup forum was the brain child of Americorps wonder, Hannah Mueller. With due diligence she gathered a number of exceptional Addison County students for a first of its kind business and social entrepreneur award recognition. ACORN congratulates all students who participated sharing their excellent business models. It was truly thrilling so see the levels of thoughtfulness and commitment to the student run businesses. Now that is is really Spring- there are lots of spring greens, both wild edibles and wonderfully cultivated ones. Most growers are selling retail to garner the best monetary return early in the season. Right now, asparagus, rhubarb, head lettuces, spinach are all fresh for the eating!
Soon, the wholesale selling begins. This increases the possibility of our county institutions to buy locally. There is a pull on the supply side by all producers and a push on the demand side from consumers like you. Perhaps 2012 will see a significant increase of locally sourced food to our area institutions. A great resource is the ACORN Local Food & Farm Guide or contact us for a copy. Soon to be on the website! If you wish to sell to institutions, remember to research food safety and develop a working farm plan. UVM has some excellent resources to help.See also the link for meat and food safety further on down. UVM Food Safety Resources |
ACORN is a Vermont non-profit currently working on specific projects to broaden Addison County's impact in the arena of food, agriculture, capitalization of small businesses and renewable energy resources. We build connections; the links are meant to show the array of Vermont-based resources. Kindly share ideas that can support our effort. JOIN ACORN share the bounty of the county! |
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F2S Tractor Training Program
tractor, tractor everywhere... how can I find a mechanic?
Have you ever noticed how many tractors there are in Addison County? It seems every age, shape, size, horsepower, brand and capability is here somewhere. Funny thing about farming, it is said you have to be well versed across so many aspects of business. Did you ever think you would have to be a mechanic too? Well, maybe you don't.
The Patricia A. Hannaford Center in Middlebury has an excellent program to train the next gen of tractor
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mechanics. If you know someone who wants to learn the trade click the link. Tractors: Mechanical Science. You may be someone in need of a mechanic. The graduates of the program have excellent skills. Feel free to call the director as the diesel program is always looking for projects. Contact: Lynn Coale So if this sounds like you... We have a Ford 1710 offset, a Massey 593 and a Kubota 6040...so someone who is generally well versed would be better than a single variety specialist. In particular right now we are having trouble with the Massey starting system and kill switches. Contact Lynn about helping students expand their skills with your tractors, think of him as Mr. Resource!
There are other tractor services in Addison County too, few to consider Yandow, Art's Tractors & Champlain Valley Equipment. It is common for the graduates of PAHCC to enter the workforce through these businesses.
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Industrial Hemp: Is it time for Addison County to embrace this crop? Come find out
Rural Vermont and ACEDC are hosting a workshop Wednesday June 7th at 7:00 PM on the merits of industrial hemp. Learn about the uses, current policies around the issue, and the economic potential of hemp as a part of Vermont's agriculture.
The talk is led by Netaka White of the VT Sustainable Jobs Fund.Click here for more info on Rural Vermont or call for details: 802-223-7222
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F2You: Taconic End Farm
Taconic End Farm is in the southern Champlain Valley town of Leicester. Started 25 years ago by Catlin Fox and Annie Claghorn, the land has been certified organic from the beginning, with milk certified since 1996. It is a dairy farm with an emphasis on growing and preserving much of their own food.
The main focus is on the herd of 45 Jersey cows and young stock that are intensively grazed from mid April to November. The farm is grass based on 100 acres for pasture and hay for the winter. The herd calves seasonally in the spring so most of their milk is made while on pasture. They are proud producer-members of the farmer owned Organic Valley Cooperative.
The farm is certified organic for milk, hay, and beef. Maple syrup, beef and garlic are sold at the farm. They welcome visitors, but please call ahead. Taconic End Farm
1395 Leicester -Whiting Rd
Leicester, VT 05733
802-247-3979
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30 years of Gleason Grains! June 2nd celebration on the farm
Ben & Theresa will be celebrating their 30 years as Vermont's premiere grain growers with farm, field and mill tours. Plan a day to visit Addison County's favorite wheat farmers. Highlights of their research and wheat breeding will be conducted by the NW Crops and Soil team of UVM. This is a must attend event for those interested in grains or you just want to meet your local miller! Gleason Grains  Saturday June 2, 2012
10-3:00 2076 East Street Bridport, Vermont
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Farm & Food New Technology
 There is a new website in Vermont and we think it is a good one! Consider it your portal to farm and culinary experiences and a veritable global marketing campaign for your farm or food business. Explore the site hereDesigned with excellent resource categories- places, events, regions and trails a user can easily maneuver to find new places to visit or new products. One can create a trail for a day trip, or send ideas to someone traveling from out of sate.
It is in the final phase of development and ACORN invites you to explore registering your business for added visibility. Membership info & business registration There are criteria to be met, but please research your business and build the food network of Addison County. We think you might like it too!
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Credit Card systems for farm-stands and markets
Many farm stands and producers selling at farmer's markets turn to credit/debit technology to drive sales. Simple to use apps for phones or semi-permanent bank machines offer buyers access to your products when cash is not in hand.
There are fees associated with the service and for a credit processing company. A company called On-Line Credit Card Services out of Sturbridge, MA is recommended by many VT farmers. One can obtain the machines and the average percent charged per transaction is about 1.8%. NURIT is the traveling version  of their machine. These can be used at markets and process the transactions offline. After the market, plug them in and run the batch on the phone line . The down fall is if someone gives you a bad card; though in Vermont this has been very rare.
For farm stands, you can have the credit card machine plugged into a live phone line and power, making the transactions run live. There is an auto batch for reconciliation purposes that happens nightly.
Several options are available but remember customer service is a valuable part of any package. Though there is a cost to using this credit and debit technology, it may be worth the price of the sale. That is up to you to decide but unless there is a nearby ATM where potential customers can access cash, you may just have lost out on a sale or two.
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Food Safety & Meat Processing Workshop
UVM Extension is organizing an overview course on "Introduction to Food Safety in Meat Processing" on Wednesday, May 23 from 8:30-12 noon at the Mad River Food Hub in Waitsfield, VT. The cost of the course ($25) includes lunch at noon. UVM Extension Workshop Details
Please note tha t this course is intended to be a brief overview/ introduction, as indicated in the title. There is 3-day HACCP course for meat and poultry processors to be held in Berlin, VT from June 18-2. It will provide much more in-depth training and experience for those processors needing to write a HACCP plan. More information on that workshop is also available from the UVM Extension Food Safety website.
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 Are you a food business looking for funding?
Through a crowdfunding platform wholly dedicated to farm and food Three Revolutions helps farmers and other food innovators connect with their supporters and raise capital. explore the opportunity to match your needs with their service.
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Thanks to all of you for sharing links and information. Because of your input, we keep growing and catalyzing our network.
Annie Harlow
ACORN Network
802-922-7060
ahhannieahh@yahoo.com
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