| |||
For Immediate Release: October 31, 2006 | |||
|
Making Farmland Affordable in Vermont October 26, 2006 – Spencer and Jennifer Blackwell purchased the conserved Elmer Farm in East Middlebury this week and became two of the first participants in the Vermont Land Trust’s Farm Access Program, a new endeavor that provides qualified diversified farmers with access to good agricultural land and assists with the start up or expansion of commercial agricultural businesses. Over the past five years, Vermonters have watched land values in the state increase dramatically, making it more difficult for farmers to gain access to productive and affordable farmland. At the same time, farm ownership has changed, as more farmers have decided to retire or pursue other professions. This combination of forces creates a looming crisis in agriculture. The future of farming depends upon skilled, entrepreneurial farmers and their access to high quality, affordable farmland. The Farm Access Program combines land conservation, business planning, and long term productive use of farmland which are all key to Vermont’s agricultural future. This program is in a nascent stage of operation and is a collaborative effort between many organizations including the UVM Center for Sustainable Agriculture’s Land Link program, the Vermont Housing and Conservation Board’s Farm Viability Program, the Northeast Organic Farming Association, the Intervale Foundation, and Working Landscapes, a Massachusetts non-profit focused on business planning. Spencer and Jennifer Blackwell are not new to farming. They have 20 years of farming experience between them. Add to this knowledge of carpentry, machine repair, crop rotation, and direct marketing, and you can begin to see a Vermont family farm success story. In fact, the Blackwell’s relocating their “Intervale Bean & Grain” to the 90-acre Elmer Farm in East Middlebury and plan to expand over the next several years. “When we learned about the Elmer Farm and the Farmland Access Program, it was a great opportunity for us to expand our operation,” said Jennifer Blackwell. The Blackwell’s five-year lease at the Intervale – where they crop 32 acres of beans, grains, and vegetables – is due to expire in two years. “If we want to grow the business,” added Jennifer, “we need space to build storage and processing facilities.” VLT purchased the Elmer Farm in June from the Estate of Dorothy Elmer whose family had lived on the land since the 1840’s. Dorothy lived on the property and had been discussing conservation with the Middlebury Area Land Trust (MALT) for years. When she passed away last fall, her brother Donald worked to fulfill his sister’s objectives. The Vermont Land Trust and the Middlebury Area Land Trust saw this as the perfect opportunity to keep this farm in production and support the next generation of farmers. VLT purchased the farm for $445,000, with support from the Town of Middlebury, the Freeman Foundation, and several individual donors. VLT then conserved the farm in order to sell it for far less. VLT partnered with MALT on this transaction. MALT will hold a public trail easement on the farm with the hope of creating a four-season trail linking East Middlebury Village to the Trail Around Middlebury (TAM). The Blackwell’s offered to purchase the farm through a competitive “request for proposal” process that attracted over 30 visitors to the farm. “The selection process was difficult because there were several qualified proposals,” explains Gil Livingston, President-Elect at VLT, “but the Blackwell’s are truly a great fit. They bring a depth of farming experience, business sophistication, and commitment to community that will help them succeed. At VLT we were thoroughly impressed with their vision for the farm, their comprehensive business plan, and of course their enthusiasm.” The Blackwells benefited from three years of active support from the Intervale Center, a non-profit organization in Burlington that helps incubate new farm enterprises. The Center allowed the Blackwells to develop farming skills and business management experience on leased land, with access to farmer-mentors, equipment and technical assistance. The Blackwell’s plans for the farm include: creating a Community Support Agriculture enterprise, establishing a grain processing and milling facility, transitioning to organic, and developing value-added products such as, flour, canned vegetables, and vegetable oil. “We have a lot of ideas, but we also don’t want to grow too quickly,” said Jennifer. “Because of the ‘eat local challenge’ we have received calls from people all over the state looking for local grains. We know the market is there, but we want to take our time and grow at the right pace.” After this summer’s news of dropping milk prices and relentless spring rains that brought disappointing fall harvests, farming in Vermont seemed bleak. But stories like the Blackwell’s give us hope. “When I look 20-30 years out, I see an increasingly vibrant agricultural community in Vermont,” said Livingston, “It is people like Jennifer and Spencer Blackwell that give me this sense of optimism.” In the future, VLT hopes to continue to facilitate the creation of new farm enterprises and greater diversification within Vermont agriculture. At the same time, VLT continues to support family dairy farms through its conservation programs and existing tools. However, VLT has found that smaller, diversified family farms benefit from a different set of tools. VLT is interested in hearing from owners of farmland that would like to consider conserving and selling their farmland through the Farmland Access Program. Gil Livingston offered that, “if it weren’t for those early conversations between Dorothy and MALT several years ago this fantastic match of the Blackwells and Elmer Farm never would have happened.” To enroll as a “farm seeker” applicants can fill out a Land Link Vermont application by visiting www.uvm.edu/landlinkvt or calling 802/656-0233. and for more information about the Farmland Access Program and for those with farmland that may be a good fit, contact Bob Baird, VLT’s Agricultural Co-Director at 802/483-2467.
| |||
Land Conservation | Projects | Support | About VLT | Publications | Search | Contact Us | Home | |||
