Power of Partnerships in Vermont ― Using What Comes Naturally

(above) seed crusher at BorderView farm (NRCS image -- click to enlarge) Vermont Food Venture Center (NRCS image -- click to enlarge)

Vermont’s Food and Agriculture Council held their second annual tour highlighting the power of partnerships in coordinating interagency program delivery, diversity of operations, and innovative methods with emerging technologies and biofuels.  The tour featured four varied operations.

The Vermont Food Venture Center, a shared-use kitchen incubator for value-added and specialty foods, has a kitchen that is rented on an hourly basis, where producers can arrange for co-packing at the facility.  Staff provides a wide array of food and ag business consulting services to aspiring entrepreneurs, existing food businesses, and organizations looking to promote food businesses as an economic development tool. (seed crusher)

Windmill power and a proposal to compost manure in bedded packs to heat a riding ring ‘wowed’ the crowd at a horse training and boarding facility that has over 100 productive acres in conservation practices, an EQIP contract, and a nutrient management plan. The windmills supply the barn and two houses with electricity.

A 680 cow operation, producing over 15 million pounds of milk a year has an anaerobic digester using methane gas derived by processing the farm’s cow manure to fire steam-powered generators. The power will be sold to a public utility as part of that company’s renewable energy “Cow Power” program.  It is expected to produce nearly 2 million KWH of electricity a year.

Combined with “Cow Power,” Bio-fuels crop trials, including canola, sunflower, and switch grass are being conducted at BorderView Farm for on-farm processing to produce both ethanol and bio-diesel; and bio-fuel is the stuff dreams are made of for on-farm efficiency of renewable energy. The by-products from the crops will be made into bio-fuel for pellet stoves.

Rounding out the tour was a visit to Allenholm Farm, a historic apple orchard that is also a B&B, petting zoo and farm store.
Your contact is Anne Hilliard, NRCS public affairs specialist, at 802-951-6795.